Shades of the World
by Magdalene Thorne
Summary: What if the worlds of Duels Monsters and humans were one and the same? In this amazing world, anything is possible. Join the 5D's gang as they have spectacular adventures and meet fordimable foes, as well as learning about a past they did not know they were a part of, at the Legendary Duel Academia. Main Pairings JackxCarly and YuseixAki.
1. Prologue: The Day the Earth Split

**The Shades of the World**

By Magdalene Thorne

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything to do with the franchise. This fan fiction is merely for entertainment purposes and not my own profit.**

**Author's Note: Greetings, my fellow fans of 5D's and all things Yugioh. For those of who don't know who I am, my name is Magdalene Thorne, aspiring author yet to be discovered. Sad, I know. But I will not give up until I am published and share my ideas with the world. I am currently working on a Yugioh fic called Yugioh: Shadows of the Forsaken, starring Yugi and friends, with a few new friends in the mix. While browsing the web, I found a pic of the Yugioh 5D's cast that just inspired me to write the new story you are about to read. I didn't want to work on more than one story at the same time, but the idea just wouldn't leave me alone. So, I gave in and started work on this. And yes, this is AU for those who are unsure. I hope you all like this!**

Prologue: The Day the Earth Split

It had been a day like any other. The weather was pleasant, with clear skies as far as the eye could see. The waves in the harbor crashed along the docks as seagulls flew across the shimmering blue water for their daily catch. The shuffling of shoes mixed with the various voices speaking among the crowds of people walking through the streets. No one could have known what was to come. How could they have been aware of it when no warning was given? But one thing was certain: it would be a day, not to be forgotten for years to come.

Dr. Hakase Fudo was speedily making his way to the Ener-D Reactor control room. A few people tried to make conversation with him, not only out of courtesy, but also because he had been replaced as head of the reactor project and had been forbidden access to the building. Hakase, however, was a clever man, knowing the layout of the building like the back of his hand. His good friend, Stella Atlus, had been commissioned to design the scientific facility. She had been more than happy to share her blueprints with him, as well as let him know of a few secret entrances and passages she had created solely for emergencies. Only she, Dr. Fudo, and his wife, Yumei, knew of them, which was to their advantage as they didn't need anyone delaying them any further.

Hakase quickened his pace, going from a speedy walk to full on running like he was on fire. If he didn't hurry, everything would be on fire, the devastation unthinkable. As he ran down the ever-spanning hallway, catching people off guard as they went about their own work, his thoughts went to Yumei and Yusei, their infant son. Yumei had been a part of the project as long as Hakase, both driven to make their dream a reality. To create a source of energy that would sustain whole cities effortlessly, with no harm to the environment. It had been meant to unite people, hence the name of the particle making it all possible, Yuusei Ryuushi. It was also why he had named his son by the same name. He had hoped that through his invention, the world would become a better place for his son and all children to grow up in.

Now, the very thing Hakase and Yumei had worked so hard for, was going to tear the city apart if he didn't stop it in time. Never had they thought reactor would be used in a such way, as a weapon of mass destruction. Hakase had begged Yumei to take Yusei and get away as far as she could in case he was unsuccessful. But she would not run. She was the leading developer just underneath him, meaning she had as much responsibility as he did. After he had been replaced by Rudger Godwin as head of development, Yumei herself stood down from her position as she shared in her husband's sentiments. It was bad enough their project was being meddled with in order to cause such disaster, but the facility had become a home to both of them and their son. Yumei refused to let it all go without a fight.

Hakase smiled to himself, recalling how fired up she had been. Just like Yumei to head into danger so recklessly. He hoped Yusei would inherit that trait of his mother's, it was a quality that made her all the more admirable. To ensure Yusei's safety, they had given him to Stella to look after. After being betrayed by those they thought they could trust, the Fudos knew only Stella was the one they could trust their son's safety with. Stella had her own son to worry about, Jack, who was only a year older than Yusei. She had informed them he was safe with her husband, Nicholas.

As he neared the elevator leading to the restricted area, Hakase heard the shouts of guards gaining on him. He sprung with a boost of energy as the doors opened. Jumping in, Hakase kicked the "close" button as hard as he could. The doors slid shut just as the guards reached the elevator. Hakase sat on the cold, metal floor, panting hard as he caught his breath. The light dinged each time the elevator passed a floor, seeming to resound as it neared the designated floor. Hakase stood up, dusting off his lab coat. He cleared his throat, composing himself for what he was about to face. He was startled when he suddenly heard his wife's voice.

"Hakase!"

"Y-Yumei! What is it?" he asked as he lightly touched his earpiece.

"I'm almost to the reactor. How are you doing?" she said breathlessly as she ran.

"I'm coming up on the control room," Hakase said as he carefully watched each number pass. "Yumei…"

He took a pause, not wanting to say what was on his mind, for it would make it too real to bear.

"Hakase," Yumei breathed, taking a moment as she waited for the doors leading to the reactor to open, pulling back a brown strand of hair. "You don't have to say it."

"But I do," he said in a low voice. "If I don't say it now, I'll be lying to you, and myself. Yumei, the time we have shared has been the happiest of my life. You gave me more than I ever thought possible. A warm home, unconditional love, a wonderful son, I only hope I have given you a fraction of what you have given me."

"Hakase," she whispered, pressing her hands to her earpiece in a loving manner. "You have given me more than a fraction. I never thought I would meet a man like you. I am so grateful I did, I am so grateful you chose me. If we should fail, the only regret I would have is that we won't be there to see our little boy grow into the amazing man he will be."

"Me too," Hakase leaned against the elevator wall. "We can only hope we don't fail."

"Yeah, it's as easy as that," Yumei laughed.

She stopped when she heard the sounds of the doors opening. Hakase could it from his side, just as he reached his floor. Both sets opened at the same time, both people standing at the ready with determined eyes. Before they stepped out, Yumei had one more thing to say. In retrospect, it was the most important phrase to say to anyone before parting ways, especially in dangerous moments as this.

"Hakase," she said softly but he still heard her, giving her his undivided attention as he always did, "I love you, forever."

He smiled sadly, knowing what this meant, "And I love you, for all eternity."

They both took the first step, knowing that it could be the last time they heard each other's voices. Rudger had his back to Hakase, too distracted by the battling forces within him. Hakase tread cautiously as he approached the blond man. Rudger looked up at the glass and saw Hakase behind him, giving him a hard look.

"Hakase," he exhaled out as though he were out of breath. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Rudger, please, don't do this," Hakase said. "Do you not realize what tragedy this could cause, all the lives to be lost?"

"I do, but there is nothing I can do about it," Rudger said, turning to face his former colleague, blood dripping from his side.

Hakase gasped in horror, "Rudger, what have you done to yourself?"

"I couldn't fight the darkness anymore. It was stronger than I anticipated. I decided this fate for myself," he grunted in pain, holding what remained of his right arm from where he had severed it.

"What about the millions of innocents in the city, in the country, have they decided this as well?" Hakase demanded angrily.

_"They do not matter to one beyond their power of comprehension," _said a menacing voice.

"No! Rudger, you didn't!" Hakase backed away a bit.

"I did!" Rudger said as a dark figure appeared behind him.

Its shape kept shifting, as if it had a difficult time materializing. However, Hakase could still make out its main body as one of giant spider the side of a man.

"You made a contract with one of those fiends? How could you?"

"It was easy, once I relinquished all human attachments," Rudger replied with no emotion.

"What about Rex? He's your brother, your only family," Hakase said, trying to appeal to Rudger's humanity, or what was left of it.

"He is nothing to me, as are you," Rudger said, the spider shooting red webs at Hakase.

He stood still as a force field of light appeared around him, absorbing the attack. Hakase's eyes narrowed, sending that attack back with more power. Rudger was pulled up into the air by red webbing, the blast going right through the glass and hitting one of the steel panels above the reactor. The workers below scattered for safety as the pieces began falling. Yumei did not run. With a wave of her arm, falling debris was stopped in mid-air. She slowly lowered her arm, her azure eyes remaining calm, the floating steel following her movements until it was safely on the floor.

"Dr. Fudo! What's going on?" one of the young male assistants asked scared.

"Get everyone out of here! There is a good chance the reactor will have a meltdown," Yumei said.

"What?!" they froze in place.

"That can't happen! Rudger told us everything was fine," one older scientist said.

"He lied. He's responsible for all the problems we've been having with the reactor. Now move it!" she yelled, the scientist scattering as they made for the doors.

Yumei looked up as she heard another explosion, the control filled with smoke, "Hakase…"

"You may be strong, Hakase, but my power comes from something far more powerful than you could ever imagine!"

Rudger was engulfed by the dark energy of the spider. Hakase did not back down. Suddenly, a huge blast of energy was shot straight at Hakase. He held his arm in defense, his force field keeping up. Rudger did not appear surprised. Hakase took his turn in powering up. He was bathed in a white light, like stardust falling from sky. The roar of a dragon resonated through the very building. Yumei looked up from helping a young woman back on her feet.

"Madam, is that…your husband's power?" she said in awe.

"Yes, it is," Yumei said before looking down. "But it may not be enough. For you see, the master of that power has yet to discover his destiny."

Hakase lit the entire room with brilliance, his spiked, black hair swaying in the breeze he caused through the release of power. He yelled as he attacked, the energy taking the form of a dragon midway until making contact with Rudger. Yumei waited for the smoke to clear, she, as well as her husband, gasped in shock. Though he was badly burned, his skin sizzling from the heat of the attack, Rudger was still alive, held up by his red webbing. He slowly started laughing very quietly until it crescendoed into mocking laughter.

"You actually think you can stop it from happening?" he grinned maliciously. "You're wrong! Because it has already begun!"

"Hakase!" Yumei called out, her eyes wide with terror.

Her husband soon shared the same expression as the Ener-D Reactor began to spin wildly out of control, "NO! This can't be!"

"But it is," Rudger sneered, beginning to fade into the darkness. "You are too late."

The last of those words weighted like anvils in Hakase's heart. Hakase fell on his knees, hands balled into fists as he punched the floor. He yelled in anguish, feeling himself tear inside. This explosion would not only take out Neo Domino, but the entire East Asian Coast. The worst case scenario they could have imagined. Yumei gazed sadly at her husband. There was nothing to stop this. All those lives, lost in an instant. Their son, their friends, their home, everything. She kept a hard expression as she came to one conclusion. She had no choice.

"Hakase," she spoke firmly yet gently, "you have to get to Stella and Yusei. I'll stay here."

His head shot up, "WHAT?! No, don't!"

"I have to, it's the only way," she replied.

"But…Yumei, I could help," he offered helplessly.

"We both know it wouldn't make much of a difference. I may not be able to stop the meltdown, but I can minimize the damage," she said, her eyes glossing over. "So many will still die, but it's better to do something than nothing."

She choked out the last part. Hakase did not fight the tears. He got to his feet, looking down to meet her eyes. More was said in that moment than simple words could describe.

"I'll see you soon," he said before turning on his heel and running as fast as he could. Yumei finally broke down, clenching the place over her heart.

"Mrs. Fudo," she turned to see most of the science division still with her, the young woman smiling at her. "Whatever we can do, let us help. You won't be alone in the end."

She stared at them in gratitude, tears running down her face. Hakase rushed through the crumbling building, people screaming in panic, trying to get away. Hakase reached the room where he had left Yusei with Stella. He froze as he saw Stella on the ground, blood staining her clothes as it flowed from the wound in her abdomen. Her long blond hair was disheveled, her hazel eyes showing the fading light of life in her.

"Stella!" he dashed to her side, holding her in his arms. "What happened?"

"It was that bastard, Ashe. He came for Yusei. I fought him as best I could," she struggled to say, her breathing becoming more ragged. "I was still weak from my last mission. I shouldn't have fought him, but I couldn't let him take your boy. I know you would do the same for Jack."

Tears marked her bloodied face as thoughts of her son and husband came to mind.

"My poor Jack, to grow up without a mother. I hope he won't hate me," she coughed out more blood, Hakase holding her tightly.

"He won't," he assured her. "Jack is a good kid. I can see it. I hope he and Yusei will be great friends."

"As do I," Stella said with a weak smile. "Yumei is going to do it, isn't she?"

Hakase nodded, "I don't think I'll make it either. The blast will be too big to escape."

"Stella!" Hakase looked over his shoulder to see Nicholas standing at the doorway, his dark-violet eyes filled with fear as he saw his wife in such bad condition, running to her side. "What happened?"

"Ashe," Hakase merely said, handing Stella to him with ease.

"Nick, what about Jack?" Stella asked worried.

"He's safe, I left him with a nun named Martha," Nicholas said, sweetly caressing her cheek. "I had to come. Something told me you were hurt."

Stella smiled, "Thank you. Hakase, you need to take Yusei and get him somewhere safe. The life-pods should still be functioning."

She pulled her arm, underneath a bundle of blankets. Little Yusei squirmed in his sleep, cooing as he awoke. Hakase took him into his arms. He got up, walking to the door, turning to his friends. Nicholas smiled at him, his short black hair being covered in dust. Hakase then began running, knowing they would fine as long as they were together in their last moments. As the rumbling grew louder, Yusei began crying, sensing something was wrong.

Yumei focused her entire being into her task. The scientist gathered around the reactor, giving as much of their own energy to Yumei. The reactor was close to blowing up. In her heart, Yumei prayed for her son's safety, and that he would not forget about his parents. A single tear fell down her cheek as the reactor reached critically level, her body releasing the energy inside.

Hakase agilely made his way to the life-pods. Only one was left. He carefully laid Yusei in, the infant wailing loudly. Hakase could sense Yumei's life-force disappear, knowing he would join her soon. He looked down at his son, bending down to his kiss his little forehead before closing the pod and sending it on its way, the light of explosion surrounded him, mouthing the words, "I love you, son", as he was taken by the blast.

* * *

The city was in ruins, buildings left in ruin. The explosion had caused a rift that had separated Neo Domino in half, now separated by the sea. People walked around trying to find their loved ones, or some explanation of how this could have happened. A nun was walking down the coast, trying to ease the child in her arms, her black dreadlocks falling down her back. She appeared to be in her 30's, with dark skin and eyes, having a Hispanic appearance.

"There, there, Jack, it will be fine," she said in a soothing tone.

He hiccupped as he calmed down, Martha smoothing his blond hair. The destruction was unfathomable. Martha looked on with mournful eyes.

"How could this have happened?"

She set down Jack, who sat down on the sand playing with a few seashells, broken but otherwise in good condition. He held one up to Martha who took it graciously. If only he knew how brave his parents had been. While looking out at the waves, Martha thought she heard a baby crying. The sound was not too far away. She walked around until she found a pod nestled in the sand. As she tried to figure out how to open it, Jack pressed a button and the pod opened.

Martha jumped back, taking Jack into her arms, until she heard crying again. She peered inside and found baby Yusei in his blankets. She quickly took him out, Yusei still wailing. Jack raised his hand, one of the seashells in it. Martha took it, holding it above Yusei. The baby soon stopped, smiling as he tried reach up for the shell. Wondering what his name was, Martha searched his blanket, the name "Yusei" stitched on the side.

"So, your name is Yusei? What a nice name," she said. "Come on, Jack, time to go home."

She scooped up Jack and made her way to her little house, which had now gained two more residents.

**I think I am going to like working on this. Yeah, it was a long prologue, but I am very detailed. I finished this one chapter in one day! Maybe it's because it doesn't have any duels. Those take me forever to write. There will be Duel Monsters but in a different manner. I wanted to take this chapter and make it about the events before the series, give a more personal perspective on the parents and what happened to them. I hope you all like this, but if not, let me know. I don't mind criticism, it helps me improve as a writer.**

**Please review, I love hearing from the readers and their opinions!**

**Preview: Years have passed, Yusei and Jack now young adults, entering a new school with new people alongside Crow. What awaits them at the legendary Duel Academia? **


	2. Chapter 1: Life Years After

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything to do with the franchise. This fan fiction is merely for entertainment purposes and not my own profit.**

**Author's Note: Howdy everyone! I am super incredibly sorry for the long wait, but I have other things on my plate, like school and work. I will try to manage my time better in the future. And, I want to thank everyone who has read my story, especially those who have favorited and/or following it. I love 5D's as much as the original Yugioh, and I promise to do my best with this story. Now someone, don't know who, asked if I could add a ton more characters in this chapter, as well as romance. I would like to say I love the characters and the pairings. That said, I like to be close to source material, as well as develop the characters naturally. I am sorry, but I want my work to feel like a real book, so I will take my time with said elements. I just want to give everyone quality work. I hope I didn't insult anyone, if I did, I'm very sorry. **

**P.S. In the story, Yusei and Crow are 16 and Jack is 17. **

Chapter 1: Life Years Later

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. That's what Yusei Fudo told himself as the day quickly approached. Though others would say different, namely his two best friends, Jack Atlus and Crow Hogan. The three had been accepted into the prestigious Duel Academia, the premiere school of duel masters. They had been quite shocked when they had each received letters of acceptance in the mail, with full scholarships no less. The boys had a right to be suspicious as they had never intended on applying to Duel Academia, let alone actually applied. It wasn't a matter of they were good enough to; they were the best duelists in Satellite. But that was just it: they were from Satellite. Ever since the disaster of 16 years ago, the rift in the land was not the only one created that day. Separated by the sea, Neo Domino and the Satellite were contrast of each other. One, pristine and ruled by order, where life seemed so much easier: the other, neglected and lost, where residents struggled to make it each day.

Though things had gotten better over the years, it had been far more chaotic before. Yusei chuckled as he packed his things into his gym bag. He knew he and his friends were partially responsible for that. They had formed a duel gang under the leadership of their friend, Kiryu Kyosuke. They had taken out many of the troublemakers and criminals in Satellite. After that, Sector Security took over and kept everyone in line. Yusei knew it was better this way, Kiryu had not thought so. His blue eyes stared into space as he recalled their last encounter. It had not gone well. No matter how much time passed, Yusei knew he would always feel the sting of regret in his heart after letting his friend down so badly. He sighed deeply. There was nothing he could do about it now. Yusei had to keep moving forward, and going to Duel Academy was the first step in that path.

"Where the hell is my toothbrush?!" Jack yelled from the bathroom down the hall.

"Isn't it with the others in the cup on the sink?" Crow asked.

"NO!" Jack boomed. "Did someone take it as a joke?! Because if they did…"

Yusei poked out his head from his door, "Jack, you packed all of your bathroom stuff last night. Remember?"

There was a long silence as Yusei waited for Jack's response.

"Oh! You're right. Thank you, Yusei," Jack said calmly as though he had not been making a scene just a minute ago.

"Seriously?" Crow joked.

He should have been used to Jack's behavior after knowing him for so long, but every now and again, he surprised him. Yusei went back to finish packing. He was pleasantly surprised by how quickly his friends had accepted going to the academy, once their foster mother, Martha, had sat them down and given them a good talk. It had been a month earlier when they had received their letters. Naturally, they thought it had been either a mistake or a prank. After making some calls to a few friends she had in the city, Martha was able to confirm the letters were real. Jack had been the first to speak up and say it was pretty suspicious the three of them had been accepted. Crow agreed, knowing there was more to it than a simple extension of friendship from the school for those in Satellite. Yusei did not say anything, but agreed with what they said. They had grown up to be weary of everything and everyone they did not know.

It was then that Martha revealed that she had applied the three of them. They were nothing less than flabbergasted. She explained that as skilled as they were, Martha thought the academy could teach them how to really refine their abilities, enable them to do things they could only dream of. They knew she was especially passionate about this as her older sister had been a student at the academy. They knew it was very important as Martha rarely spoke of her sister. They didn't know why, and they thought it was better not to ask. Martha had done so much for them, it would be disrespectful if they forced her to trench up such emotions. She just wanted what was best for them. Even Jack didn't argue with her. They all loved her as the mother she had become for them after they had lost their own parents in the event of years before.

Yusei zipped up the gym bag when he was done. He walked over to the window, glancing down at the yard as the children played with small Duel Monsters. Martha took them in when they had nowhere to go. Whenever a lost child wandered by, she would offer him or her a home with her. Though they didn't trust her at first, the children would end up considered Martha their new mother, and the other children as their siblings. The little ones even called Yusei, Jack, and Crow big brothers. One of the boys looked up and waved at Yusei with a big smile. Yusei waved back. He would miss them, his family, and his home. But Martha was right. There was only so much he could learn on his own. If he really wanted to make a difference, he would need to know what he was capable of.

"Yusei! You ready?" Crow shouted from downstairs.

Yusei looked at his reflection in the window glass. His black hair was spiked up with yellow highlights, like a crab shape. It was an odd hairstyle, but only he could really pull it off. His skin, once white, was now tanned. He fixed his blue jacket on, smoothing his black shirt underneath. He spun on his heel, walking across the room, picking up his bag, and walking out of his room. He went downstairs where everyone was waiting for him. He saw Jack sitting in of the chairs in the dining room, his arms crossed. He had his bright blond hair spiked up too, almost like a crown, with some strands of long hair falling in front of his ears. He had on a white trench coat with a blue button-up shirt and light grey pants. Jack looked up at Yusei, dark violet eyes showing his boredom.

"About time," Jack said as he uncrossed his arms and stood up.

"You're one to talk," Yusei smirked. "Where are Martha and Crow?"

"Outside, getting the kids to say bye to them," Jack grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, throwing it at Yusei, who expertly caught it. "You were taking your sweet time. Something wrong?"

"I was just getting a good look at the place," Yusei said taking a bite. "This has been our home since I can remember. It feels weird leaving, that's all."

"Yeah, I know," Jack leaned against the wall by Yusei. "We've been here our whole lives. But Martha is right. We need to get out there and explore the world. How else can we help it?"

Yusei nodded agreement.

"Whoa, such big speech there, Jack. I could have sworn Yusei was the one saying it," Crow joked as he entered from the backdoor. "Feeling a little sentimental?"

He had orange hair held up by a headband, with a brown vest and pants and sleeveless orange shirt. His faint-blue eyes shined with mischief under the many yellow marks on his face. They were worn by those arrested by Sector Security if they were seen a viable threat, a way to track them and keep them in line. Though Crow had only been a threat as a thief as he had garnered quite the reputation as the best thief in Satellite. Martha had scowled him about it every time, but she knew he only stole so he could help the kids get something eat or a small present for their birthdays. They all knew that, even the children, so they didn't think anything of it after a while.

"Aren't you? Oh wait, I forgot you're too immature to understand that sort of thing," Jack said in a mocking tone.

"Look who's talking!" Crow snorted with sarcasm plastered on his face. "At least I didn't forget where I packed my toothbrush."

"But you did forget where you put your hair brush, seeing that mess you call your hair," Jack remarked back confidently.

"I'm glad to see you boys getting along so well," Martha said as she stepped with the children.

She had aged since the day she found Yusei and had taken in Jack on the request of his father. There were a few crow's nests on her eyes, which had grown with wisdom over the years, but otherwise, she looked the same.

"Yeah, we were way worse when we growing up, weren't we?" Crow laughed.

"Definitely," Yusei said remembering those times. "You guys may have fought a lot, but I could see you didn't mean it."

"It was too much fun getting Crow mad, I couldn't help it," Jack said nonchalantly.

The children laughed, even Crow smiled. This was how their friendship had been, and it worked well for both. They did fight, but they rather fight and let all the words be said than keeping it hidden and trying to make it seem like nothing had happened.

"Guys! We're here!" yelled a young boy from outside.

They all grab their things and went outside to see their friends, Nerve, Blitz, Taka and Rally, outside by an old beat-up van. Blitz had blue dreadlocks in a ponytail, with glasses, with knee-high brown socks over his pants with a white shirt and vest. Taka was chubby, with spiky brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a brown T-shirt and a vest with fur around the shoulders. Nerve was taller and had a blue bandana covering his hair. He had sharp brown eye, a shade darker the former's, with a goatee and a small earring. He wore a dirty-white jacket and a green shirt. Rally had long, orange curly hair, which he wore a yellow cap on. He had a small yellow marker under his lightly green eyes. Because he was wearing a long yellow dress underneath a sky-blue sweater, one would have mistaken him for a girl. Which he did not like.

"Hey guys!" Rally said, running up to them. "You ready? Your ride over to Neo Domino leaves soon."

"We're ready, Rally," Yusei greeted him with a pat on the head. "Thanks for taking us to the port, guys."

"No problem, Yusei. We're glad to help," Blitz said.

"You said it, Blitz. It's not every day your friends get accepted into _the _Duel Academia," Taka announced proudly.

"We better get going," Nerve warned them. "We don't want you guys missing your only way out of here."

"Right," Yusei said, turning to Martha and the kids. "I guess this is it."

"Yeah," Crow looked down at his feet with a bittersweet look.

"You better go then," Martha told them. "Do your very best."

"We will, Martha," Jack said softly. "Thank you, for everything."

They picked up their things and got in the van. As they drove away, the children shouted "See you later" instead of "Good-bye". It was their way of assuring the three that they would return home someday. Everyone remained silent through the entire ride to the port. Yusei stared at the passing scenery, everything decrepit and old, crying out to be repaired. The road was bumpy from fallen scrape and concrete from years before. People walked around with high spirits nevertheless. They knew it had been worse than it was now. They had been through hell already, the only way left to go was forward. Some were dueling, nothing too fancy as they had barely any power to summon monsters in the first place. The only creatures they could call forth were weak ones. Those with no masters flew freely through the sky, while others just roamed around the cracked streets.

One thing they were sure of: it would be different in Duel Academia. It would be different in Neo Domino, period. People there were born with the opportunity to channel power the likes no one in Satellite even dreamed of. It had been founded by the legendary duelist Seto Kaiba. It was even speculated that the King of Games, Yugi Muto, had a hand in the school's creation. Whether it was true or not, Duel Academia was still the home of the elite in Duel Casting, the magical art which allowed for duelists to summon and control Duel Monsters. That was how it was in this world. Humans lived side-by-side with the Duel Monsters, magic colliding with everyday life. It was, for the most part, a peaceful co-existence. There were those who disturbed this peace, and that is where Duel Academia came in. The school had been founded in order to maintain order and protect those unable to fight back. There were other academies throughout the world, other branches of Duel Academia, but none were as respected or powerful as the first.

The van slowed down as they reached the port. Nerve parked close to a wrecked warehouse. They got out and quietly made their way to the departure point. Rally was about to say something, unable to bear the silence any longer, when his mouth came unhinged. They all were in awe as they saw a sleek white helicopter resting not far from them, the Duel Academia emblem on the side, a white shield with the letters D and A in elegant green writing. A few Sector Security cops were standing by the helicopter, in their grey-blue uniforms with yellow ascots, at a readied-stance. They were obviously there to make sure only the intended passengers got onboard. This was the Satellite, and there were shady people who would love to get off the rock and into the city. One of the guards noticed the group walking up to them. He stood in front of them, holding his hand up for them to stop.

"Can I help you, guys?" he had a young voice but they could not make out his face through his helmet.

He was obviously a new guy as Yusei and the others were familiar with the usual faces assigned to Satellite. He was also pretty polite, which they found refreshingly odd. Most new guys to Satellite were cocky and judgmental towards the inhabitants of the island.

"Yes, we're the new students going to Duel Academia," Yusei stepped forward, pulling out his acceptance form from his bag.

Jack and Crow did the same. The young cop took the papers and told them to wait as he confirmed they were legitimate. He walked inside the copter, some of the other cops noticing the gang.

"Yusei! What are you doing here?" one of the older men said, others just waving at them from afar. "Don't tell me you're the ones going to Duel Academia?"

"We sure are," Crow answered instead, glowing with pride, as they waved back at the others.

"They better look out then," the officer laughed as he looked at Crow, "especially with you going, Crow."

"Ah, come on, have some faith in me. I'm not that bad," Crow said in his defense.

"No, you're worse," Jack couldn't help saying.

The others laughed, including Crow. He wasn't going to deny, it was true.

"All right, you are all cleared. We'll be departing soon, so just get onboard and make yourselves comfortable," the young officer said as he came back, then noticing the older cop talking to them. "Hey, Yamada, you know these guys?"

"I sure do," Yamada said. "I have been here since they were little, practically watched them grow up. I've been friends with their foster mother since high school."

"Yeah, Yamada here has been a real help," Blitz beamed. "He's helped us out a few times. People here really respect him."

"Come on, you're making me blush," Yamada chuckled confidently with the ego-boost. "Anyway, let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Kazama Soichi. He's been on the force a few years now. This is his first time to Satellite."

"Nice to meet you, Kazama," Yusei greeted him.

Kazama took off his helmet, appearing only a few years older than them. He was the same height as Jack. He had spiky blue hair, similar to Yusei and Jack's. He had light brown eyes, showing the glint of youth in him. He was definitely new.

"Likewise, you can call me Kaz for short," Kazama said. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rally snapped.

"Oh, nothing. I just meant with the little support the Satellite gets from the city, it seems to be doing better than expected," Kazama said with an apologetic look. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, calm down, Rally," Jack said. "The guy just got here. He doesn't know any better."

"Um, thank you?" Kazama was unsure whether he had been insulted or not.

"Seriously, Jack, what's with the attitude change?" Crow eyed him suspiciously. "You are rarely this nice."

"I'm just having a good morning," Jack replied as he recalled what had happened. "I had a good start, ate the last strudel, had some coffee…"

"You ate the last strudel?! I called dips on it days ago!" Crow yelled angrily.

Yusei just turned around smoothly and headed towards the helicopter with a straight face. He wasn't going to get in the middle of this. Nerve and Taka held Crow back as he tried lunging at Jack, who seemed unconcerned. He waved at them as he made his way to the helicopter too. Once Crow calmed down, they let go of him and he went inside as well, though he did grumble to himself about Jack being inconsiderate, among other things. Kazama just stood in amazement at what he had seen.

"Are they always like this?" he asked the others.

"Yep," they said in unison.

"They're your problem now, Kaz," Yamada said, feeling sorry for the guy.

Kazama was assigned to security at the academy, so he would be seeing a lot of three.

"Wish me luck," he sighed heavily, hoping it wouldn't be as bad as he dreaded it would be.

They all did with big smiles, knowing it would not be an easy task. He slowly walked inside the copter, some of the other officers also wishing him luck. Yusei had taken the seat on the second row to the right, next to the window. Jack was on the opposite side to the window on the left. Crow sat right behind Yusei. Kazama took his place on the co-pilot seat. The beeping of switched turning on and the hum of the engine coming alive signaled their departure. The back hatch was closed, and soon enough, the helicopter slowly rose into the air. The others yelled and waved as loud as they could over the sound of the propellers. The three of them waved back as they departed. They got one last good look at Satellite, not knowing when they would return. But they knew they would, that was a fact.

* * *

As the rocky drive before, the smooth flight to Neo Domino went by silently. The young men had not much to say to one another. Yusei was thinking about what their lives would now outside the Satellite, what they could expect. They were from the Satellite, a place rumored to harbor dangerous criminals and poverty was the norm. They wouldn't be welcomed by the students, or even the staff, of the school. Martha had assured him otherwise. Meanwhile, Crow wondered how Martha and the kids would be. He had been particularly close to the children, taking on a sort of father position among them. Jack, though he would never admit to anyone, was trying to relax. He could put a great poker face, but he was nervous about going to the city. He shared in Yusei's sentiments, and he knew to be careful not only in school, but also in the city. They had made a pact to have each other's back.

"We are approaching Neo Domino City," Kaz announced over his headset. "Have a look, guys."

Across the clear blue water, they saw the nearing land mass that was Neo Domino City. High-rises stood tall among the other buildings. From the copter, they could see the people below, looking like ants as they scurried along their day. In the alleys were Duel Monsters who made their homes in abandoned warehouses, the parks, even the sewers, pretty much anywhere else they felt like. Crow was in awe as a group of large Birds of Paradise flew beside them. They took in everything around them as they passed by. It was rather, nerve-racking, to say the least. They flew to the center of the city where the visage of school was in full view.

Duel Academia was a large facility with vast expanses of land for the academy's use. There were the normal school areas, like the gyms, dorms, pools, department buildings; then there the training grounds, where simulations of real situations were created for better training, as well as the racing tracks for turbo dueling. There were even medical facilities with the top equipment and staff, and a tram-system for students. The main building was like a spear of varying blues, rising from the ground. The school emblem was placed at the very front. Two large rectangular structures stood on either side of the spear, almost acting as shields. The overall sleek design was a symbol of what it represented: to protect the innocent and fight on with perseverance. They were amazed by how large the academy was. It was like a city within a city, Neo Domino actually encircling the school. It was the gem of the city.

"You ready, guys?" Kaz asked.

Yusei looked over at his friends. Crow smiled, while Jack gave him a nod.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Yusei replied.

"Then here we go. We are descending on Duel Academia," Kaz and his co-pilot prepared to land.

Students nearby looked up as the copter passed to landing zone, knowing who it was arriving.

* * *

While in the library, the long windows allowing the sunshine to bathe it in sunlight, a young girl with short burgundy was reading her physics assignment as the blades of the helicopter grew louder and louder. She looked up with surprise in her amber eyes. Getting up from her seat, she saw the helicopter flying close by. She lightly touched the metal bin holding her long hair out of her face, two long bangs framing her face. She could feel a bit of their power resonating from afar. They were pretty skilled in hiding their power, especially for having no formal training. The small black and red dragon napping on the table perked her head, her scales looking like petals. It was like she was beautiful rose come alive, her soft red eyes lighting up. She could sense the other aboard as well. The young girl sat back in her seat.

"Looks like things are about to get interesting around here," she said as she petted her dragon.

The dragon let out a soft purr as though agreeing with her.

"Aki, is everything alright?"

Aki turned to her only friend, a girl with long, straight black hair, wearing trifocal glasses.

"You sense them too, Carly?" Aki asked, already knowing the answer.

Carly nodded, holding onto her books tightly, "They're so strong, but this school is unlike anything they have experienced. Do you think they'll be able to handle it?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine," Aki returned her attention to her studying, Carly setting down her books. "After all, if the rumors are true, the Director himself gave them high recommendations."

"That's true," Carly said as she sat down opposite Aki, the little dragon nestling onto Carly's lap as it always did. "Hey there, Rosetta. You agree with us?"

The dragon purred again as Carly stroked her scales, curling up her thorny tail. The thorns couldn't hurt anyone unless Rosetta felt threatened. But the flower-like dragon always felt at ease around Carly.

"Guess so," Aki responded as she went back to her notes.

Carly continued petting Rosetta while spacing out, the propellers slowing down as it landed.

In another part of the school, a young girl was napping in her room when her own dragon began tugging at her shirt. She got up, her green ponytails a bit messy and her hazel eyes droopy.

"What is it, Lumina?" the girl yawned.

Lumina floated towards the bedroom window, which was open to let the gentle breeze in. The girl got up, lazily making her way to the window. Lumina was like a turquoise serpent with fairy wings and little arms, small gold cuffs, chest and head piece with tiny rubies in them. Luna petted the bit of green hair Lumina had.

The young girl looked outside when she heard the propellers, "Oh! They're here. That's why you woke me up."

"Ruka!" yelled a young boy as he burst through the door, looking out of breath.

"Rua! Knock first," Ruka scolded her twin brother.

The only differences between the two were their uniforms and the way Rua wore his hair in one ponytail while his sister wore two.

"Sorry, but did you see? They're here, they're here!" Rua exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Yes, I did see, now calm down," Ruka said with a disbelieving smile.

"I can't help it! This is so cool, right, Gear?" Rua asked the tiny dragon on his shoulder, who let out a roar, but to Luna it was more cute than threatening.

Gear looked like he was a mechanized dragon, with yellow and gray metal, one hand the form of a little green screwdriver and the other a blue shovel.

"See? Gear agrees with me!" Rua said confidently. "I can't wait to meet them! Do you think we'll have any classes together?"

"That's highly unlikely," Ruka got up and headed for her door. "They're older than we are. I don't think they'll be assigned to any of our classes."

"Aww, that stinks," Rua whined, disappointed.

He would have to befriend the old-fashion way: approaching them out of the blue and saying hi. Ruka could already see what he planning as Rua's smiled returned, with twice the glee as before. It wasn't like she could read his mind. Ruka thought it was silly to believe in the whole twin-telepathy thing. Then again, they did go to a school for magic, so it wasn't that farfetched. In any case, it would be interesting.

* * *

Yusei held onto his bag very carefully as he and the others stepped out onto the academy. They took note of their surroundings. It was very different on the ground than it was in the air. It made all the more real to them. There they were, at _the _Duel Academia.

"Wow, here we are," Crow said, deeply inhaling the fresh air, everything smelling new to him.

He didn't like talking bad about Satellite, but with there was no scent like this back home.

"You certainly are."

They were approached by a man appearing the same age as Martha, with honey brown hair and sharp features. He wore a deep blue suit underneath a flowing coat of the same shade. He seemed so secure, his forest green eyes filled with wisdom. He also seemed to be in very good health from his coloring and stance. The only clue as to his age were the few wrinkles along his face.

"Hello and welcome to Duel Academia. I am the headmaster of the school, Chancellor Xander Rutherford. It is a great honor to have you here," he said brightly. "Martha has told me quite a bit about you three."

"Thank you, sir," Yusei said. "We are equally honored to be here. Right, Jack, Crow?"

"You bet!" Crow was practically jumping for joy. "This is so awesome!"

"For once, I agree with him," Jack nodded with a light smile. "Thank you for accepting us into your school. We are very grateful."

"Though not as much as Martha," Crow pointed out.

"I'm sure she is very proud of all of you," Rutherford said. "If you will follow me, I will a tour of the school, or at least part of it. It is quite big, you see."

They waved back at Kaz, who had to return to his usual work on campus, as they followed the chancellor. Once inside, they couldn't help feeling overwhelmed, even if it was a little. They put on their best poker faces. They needed to be confident in their abilities. Martha, even the chancellor, believed in them. They couldn't mess up this opportunity by being scared off by their insecurities. Besides, they had each other for support. As this went through their minds, Rutherford described everything they passed. It was mostly classrooms, lecture halls, the card shop, which really drew their interest. They made note of the route to the shop as they felt they would spend a great deal of time there. Then onto more classrooms, and so on, it was like that for some time until they got to the dueling arenas, another spot the guys paid close attention to.

"Here are the arenas we use for practice, as well as testing at the end of each semester," Rutherford explained.

He had guided them to the control room, high above the ground where all could be viewed. At the moment, a class was using the fields for training.

"As you can see, classes typically use up most of the time allotted, but anyone can make use of the arenas, or the training grounds outside. They just need to sign for the time they want so no conflicting slots occur. The teachers really hate that," Rutherford whispered the last part, though everyone in the room heard, the technicians laughing as they knew it was true.

"Sir, Professor Bartlet is looking for you," one of the technicians said.

"Is she now? Then let her know I will meet her in my office in 15 minutes," Rutherford said then turned to the guys. "For now, I need to show these gentlemen their dorms, if you will follow me."

Rutherford made a graceful exit, Yusei and the others following him. Yusei was definitely impressed by the chancellor. Rutherford seemed like someone with a lot of experience and know-how. Yusei knew he could learn much from him.

"Chancellor?" they looked over at Jack as he spoke. "I was wondering, do you have access to information on all students who have attended the academy?"

"Why yes, we do," Rutherford replied over the roar of a Diamond-head dragon training with his master nearby. "We gather as much information about our students in order to provide the adequate courses that will suit their skills."

"Then, if a student's parents attended the school, their information would be found in your databases?" Jack inquired.

Crow shared a look of sadness with Yusei, something rare for the redhead. They both knew where Jack was going with this. Because they were orphans, the three of them had never known anything about their parents. Jack only knew from Martha that his father had left him in her care the very day of Zero Reverse. Yusei knew Martha had found him in an escape pod with a blanket with his name embroidered on it. Crow had lost his parents that same day, and lived by himself until he was five when he was befriended by Yusei and Jack and taken in by Martha. They had no clue as to who their parents were. Martha had mentioned that Jack's father was named Nick, and that he seemed very powerful from her initial impression of him. So, Jack came to the conclusion that his father, and perhaps his mother, were once students at Duel Academia. And if he discovered something concerning his parents, then his friends may also find out something as well. That was one of the main reasons they had agreed to go to Duel Academia.

"You wish to know about your parents?" Rutherford chuckled heartily, taking them by surprised. "I knew once you came, you would want to know about your parents. What orphan wouldn't wish for such a thing?"

Jack waiting patiently for the answer he sought.

"We do have what you are searching for," he said, the boys getting excited, "however, it will take some time to retrieve the information, as much of our database was destroyed during Zero Reverse. We have had to rebuild everything from that time. This is years of information, we just finished reparations some years ago."

"But we can find out if our parents attended the academy?" Yusei now asked, his heart starting to race with anticipation.

"Yes, you can," Rutherford smiled. "I know it isn't easy knowing who your parents were growing up, having gaps in your memories that you wish to fill."

"Sounds like you've dealt with this before," Crow said.

"I have. Satellite is not the only place to have many orphans due to Zero Reverse," Rutherford explained as he led them into a spacious elevator. "So many lost someone dear to them on this side as well, we do what can to help them find the answers they seek, in doing so, the closure they need."

The guys listened to every word the chancellor said. It really hit home, for what the older man said was true. Perhaps some, like their old leader, did not care about their lost family, but the three of them did not feel that way. They wanted to know so badly. There was a part in them that pushed for answers. Every orphan felt that way, even they when they denied.

"I hope you find what are looking for," the doors slid open to a train platform. "We have a subway system connecting the different areas of the campus. As I'm sure you have seen on your way here, the campus is quite…big."

"Really? We hadn't noticed," Jack said monotonely as they got in the train.

"You can take the train to wherever your classes are, they even connect to city."

"The city?" Yusei raised his eyebrow in interest.

"Yes, you can visit whenever you want," the train came to a smooth stop. "You will all of you information in your rooms."

They looked up to see their dormitory. It was like an expensive apartment complex. It was of the same steel as the main building with 15 floors.

"This is your dorm," said a young man. "Hello, I'm your dorm prefect, Natsu Yamada. I believe you know my uncle."

Natsu was a young man of 17. He had sandy-blond hair and soft black eyes. He was in the standard boy's uniform of the academy, black pants with a navy blue blazer outlined by white and a red tie. The school emblem was stitched on the upper left side, right on the chest.

"You can call me Natsu, as not to confuse you. Let me guess, you're Yusei, that's Crow, and the other one is Jack," he pointed each out correctly.

"You're Yamada's nephew?" Yusei said in surprise.

"Yep, my uncle has told me a lot about you guys and your friend in Satellite, so don't worry about a thing. If anyone here even tries to mess with you, I got your back," Natsu smirked with wink. "I got connections, as the good chancellor here will tell you."

"Well, Natsu, seeing how you have everything in order, I will take my leave, as Ms. Bartlett must be anxious to see me. Gentlemen," Rutherford tipped his head as he left.

"Come on in, guys, I'll show you around," Natsu said with a big smile.

"Where are the other students?" Yusei asked, Crow and Jack curious as well. "We haven't seen anyone else since we got here."

"Oh, classes won't officially start until next week. Most students are still just arriving and getting settled in. The instructors give you a week to get whatever you need for class and get adjusted to the schedules. There are some who have already arrived, the early birds, if you will," Natsu explained matter-of-factly. "But trust me, you guys are in for one hell of a treat. This place is wild."

"Hmph, it's not like we can't handle it," Jack said cocky. "We've dealt with worse."

"Not like this, but I'm sure you guys can handle it," Natsu nudged Yusei as though to confirm his thoughts.

Yusei merely smiled lightly. They had just arrived to Duel Academia and already things were getting interesting. He couldn't help the rise of nerves and thrill in him as he wondered just what he and his friends were in for.

**I finished the chapter! Hallelujah! Again, I am so sorry for the long wait, but I have a lot to deal with these days. And, I have been sick, so it's hard to concentrate on my work when my body won't let me. I hope you all like this. And I will try to update faster.**

**Please review, I would really appreciate it.**

**Preview: The first day of classes, how will our three heroes do alongside their new classmates? Are they ready for their new school, and it is ready for them? **


	3. Chapter 2: Introductions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything to do with the franchise. This fan fiction is merely for entertainment purposes and not my own profit.**

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! It's me again! How about that? I'm glad people like the story so far. I have put a lot effort into this, so I am happy people noticed that. Well, now we get to the guys' first day of class, this should be interesting. I have part of the plot planned out, the major points and whatnot, but most of it I just come up with as I go. And for those of you who have not read my other Yugioh work, I will warn you, from what you can tell, I write A LOT! But mainly because I am so detailed with my writing. I will try tone it back, but no promises. I hope you guys like the rest of what I have in store.**

Chapter 2: Introductions

The first day of classes, it had certainly come by faster than the boys had realized. For the past week, they had spent their time getting to know the campus, or at least a fraction of it since it was so massive. They also tried to organize their rooms. Martha has raised them to look after themselves, and do chores around the house. One of the most important was to keep their rooms clean. She would always say that just because they lived in not-so-great of circumstances, it didn't mean they couldn't make the best of it. So, the three decided just because they didn't live with their dear foster mother anymore, it did not mean they could just let their rooms become disaster zones, unlike Natsu. The young man's room was in disarray, clothes everywhere, the bed unmade, papers here and there, it was a wonder he could find anything in there.

"Yeah, I know, I'm a piggy," Natsu had joked with a goofy smile. "I can't help it. I try to be clean, organize everything, but it ends up like this every time."

Speaking of rooms, each was the same when it came to the basics: a bed, a closet, a desk with the latest model of computer, a flat-screen T.V. (yup, Crow was super happy about that), bookcase, and even their own bathrooms (that made Crow even happier). Yusei's room was on the 13th floor, Crow's on the 11th floor, and Jack was on the 14th floor with Natsu. And each room had a large window with a view of the city. The night they had arrived, Yusei took in the view, as the many lights of the buildings glittered more intensely than he had ever seen. It was the closest he had ever been to them, and as a child, he wondered if life truly was better in Neo Domino. Well, he was about to find out.

Yusei was just putting his laptop and other things inside his schoolbag, the list of which had been waiting in his room, along with his schedule, school maps, and other necessary materials. He had left his tie a bit lose at the top, one button undone. His shirt was tugged in but he felt like leaving his blazer open. He swung his schoolbag over his shoulder and headed to meet Natsu outside. He walked down the hall with ease, he didn't really notice how frantic his new neighbors were acting. Some were running up and down the halls, others were screaming at the ceiling, asking where their toothbrush or shirt was. But the rest were just calmly getting ready for class. As he headed out the front doors, Yusei failed to notice the group of girls giggling as he passed them. Yes, the dorms were co-ed. Actually, they were referred to as apartments rather than dorms because of all the amenities they had to offer that were the same as an actual apartment complex.

"Hey, Yusei!" Natsu yelled, standing outside with Crow and Jack by a large oak.

Crow had left his blazer unbuttoned. His shirt was not tugged in and he had left his tie a bit loose like Yusei. Jack had his tie the same as his friends, and he had buttoned up his blazer, though you could still see his shirt was not tugged in from the bit of fabric that hung out from underneath the jacket. Like Yusei, he didn't notice the googly eyes of female students that passed by.

"Morning, everyone," Yusei said as he approached them.

"Morning, Yusei," Crow gave him a high-five. "Ready for our first day?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"That makes two of us," Jack said, Crow looking at him like he was insane. "What? I'm not going to lie about it. This is new for all of us, can't expect me to know everything when I just got here. Honestly, do I have to think of everything for you?"

"I'm going to ignore that," Crow said brightly, though a small tone of anger could be heard from his voice.

"Thank goodness for that," Natsu sighed in relief.

"What does that mean?" Crow asked, his good mood dampened a bit.

"Because we have no time for you two to get into an argument. I still have to get you three to class, then myself," Natsu replied as he pulled out his schedule. "Unless it escaped your attention, the campus is rather _large_."

Crow just laughed sheepishly, remembering the moment something had gone wrong, Jack and he had gone into yet another of their infamous arguments. Looking back on it, it was more Crow yelling in annoyance while Jack ignored him, eating his noodles like nothing was wrong. Then, Crow accidently hit Jack's hand, the cup slipping from the latter's hand and spilling on the floor. Yusei had pulled Natsu out of harm's way, and a minute later, Jack was throwing a table at Crow, who was running for his life. That was Natsu's first glance at Jack's volatile side. He decided not to make Jack angry anytime soon, or at all. He would just not ruin his food, mainly ramen noodles, as Natsu saw he was fond of them.

"Okay, let's get you three to class," Natsu started heading for the train station.

The platform was already crowding. Students of different classes bustled in, talking excitedly about the upcoming year. Most would steal a look at the three guys, but only quick as they didn't want to stare. The boys were surprised that they were not as bothered by the stares as they thought they would be. Yusei didn't hear anyone say anything bad about them. The students were just curious about them. Yusei looked up at the sign above the platform; it read **DRAGON'S DEN STATION**. It was named after their apartment building. Yusei pondered that for a moment. Why would they name the building that? It certainly didn't look like a dragon's den.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah? What's up, Yusei?" Natsu said while getting his cellphone out.

"I was wondering, why is our place called the Dragon's Den?" Yusei pointed up at the sign.

"That? It's nothing. They name each dorm after magical references just to be quirky," Natsu said, his eyes glued to his phone.

"Really? You sure there isn't some meaning behind it?" Yusei thought there would have been more to it than that.

"Yep!" Natsu smiled as he heard the disappointment in Yusei's voice. "Not everything has to have some deep meaning, you know. Some things just are."

Yusei took what Natsu had said to heart. Perhaps he was overthinking things. He did tend to do that and it annoyed both Jack and Crow very much.

"**NOW ARRIVING, DRAGON'S DEN STATION…TRAIN 109 TO ACADEMIA STATION**."

They looked out onto the tracks as the automated female voice announced the train's arrival. They stood back as it seemly slid into the station, smoothly coming to a stop. It beeped, signaling people could now board as its doors slid opened. It was of white metal with light blue lines running along the body. Yusei speculated it was made of titanium from the look of quality of the metal. Natsu led them to their seats at the back of the car. Once everyone boarded, well, the ones who were on time, the doors closed and the train smoothly rode on. Yusei stared out the window as he had done when his friends had driven him to the port. Visually, it was different than Satellite. Everything was so clean and well-kept. Between buildings were long yards of grass and trees. Yusei saw small Duel Monsters running around the cut grass or flying energetically around the trees.

The main building shined brilliantly in the sunlight. Yusei's eyes wandered to the buildings of the city just beyond the school. As well as things had gone so far, he wondered if they would go as nicely in the city. The school was one thing, the city another. He didn't know if his friends and he would be so accepted by the citizens of Neo Domino. The Security Sector guards assigned to the Satellite were always on edge when they first arrived, but over time, they would soften up to those in the Satellite. Yusei understood why the guards would be so hostile at first; the new ones only knew what they had heard of Satellite, as a place of poverty and dismay. Again, that had changed because of Yusei and his friends, but that was a long time ago.

He had come to make a new start. It wasn't going to be easy, but Yusei had Jack and Crow to help him through this, after all, they had also lost a friend on that day. Yusei sat back in his seat, closing his eyes as he tried to clear his mind of those saddening memories. Crow had been busy talking with Natsu, asking all sorts of questions about the school and classes. Jack chimed in every now and again, but for the most part, he was spacing out like Yusei, deep in his thoughts. The automated voice announced each stop, people departing and boarding the train. Lucky for the guys, they had the same homeroom.

"**NOW ARRIVING, ACADEMIA STATION…FINAL STOP****."**

The guys gathered their things as they followed Natsu out. The halls seemed warmer with the lively chatter of the students. Yusei couldn't help feeling a tad conscious at the moment. He wasn't used to being around so many people. Despite having lived in a crowded home, Yusei was more of a people-person than Jack, but he did like his privacy.

"Here's your classroom, guys," Natsu said as he waved inside. "I know the instructor, he's a real cool guy. I gotta get going. My class is all the way across campus. You need anything, just call me."

With that, he made his speedy exit, disappearing around the corner. The classroom was like a lecture hall, the seats in stadium form, circling half the room. The teacher's desk in front had several books stacked on and around it. The words "Introduction" were written on the board in elegant writing. The guys decided to sit in the third top row, a few whispers here and there concerning them, but they didn't care. Crow yawned, already bored having to wait for the start of class, his head resting on his arms. Jack was fiddling with his phone. Yusei was always tinkering with gadgets, and Yamada had given the guys new phones for Christmas. Jack and Crow had given theirs to Yusei so he could modify them to work even better than the newest models bought in the city.

With nothing better to do, Yusei began to observe his classmates. He had noticed the difference in uniforms between boys and girls. While boys wore blue, the girls' uniform was red. It had the same white lining as the boys, as well as the school emblem, and the girls wore white shirts too, with black skirts. And they also wore a yellow ribbon, as opposed to the boy's red tie. He wondered why they were different, then he remembered what Natsu had said. Perhaps it just was, no reason behind it. He was too observant sometimes.

"Good morning, class!" everyone went to their seats as the teacher walked, with a cheery air about him. "I am your homeroom teacher, Professor Shun Watanabe. Good to meet you all!"

Professor Watanabe was fairly pale, looking to be 26-years-old. He had dark brown eyes and short, wavy jet black hair. He had on a beige turtleneck on and black jeans. He was very good-looking, Yusei thought he could have been an actor or male model. He turned when he heard a few girls giggling with excitement.

"Good morning, Professor Watanabe!" they practically cheered.

"Hello, girls," he smiled at them, and they squealed with glee. "Now then, first off, welcome back everyone! I hope you had an enjoyable break. For those of you who are new, welcome to Duel Academia! I hope you enjoy your time with us."

Yusei could have sworn Watanabe had given him and the others a quick glance before going on.

"Did you see that?"

"What?" Crow's head perked up as he decided he should pay attention.

"I saw it," Jack said. "The teacher looked at us when he was talking about the newcomers."

Crow tuned in to what Watanabe was saying, "I know many teachers make you introduce yourselves to the class. I, for one, find that rather boring. Soooo…I decided that our 'introductions' should be more 'active'."

"Why do I get the feeling I am going to like this guy?" Crow said with a raise of eyebrow.

Watanabe stood in front of his desk, standing perfectly still, smiling big, "Let's make this interesting."

In an instant, the whole wall behind him disappeared in a burst of light. Where it had once been, now was a direct opening to one of the duel arenas, the sides shimmering with energy.

"I thought we could take the express way," he moved to the side, bowing as he waved at the entrance. "After you."

The students gathered their things and excitedly made their way through the entrance.

"This is awesome!" Crow was totally awestruck. "Our teacher can do spatial magic!"

"That takes a lot skill," Jack said observantly. "It seems our instructor is quite powerful. Yusei?"

"Hmm, maybe he knows," Yusei said pensively, the wind hitting his face as he stepped into the open-air arena.

"Knows what?" Yusei almost jumped on the spot.

He turned around and saw a young boy with green hair behind him.

"Hi! I'm Rua, and this is my buddy, Gear," the small dragon flew from behind Rua and landed on Yusei's shoulder. "He likes you! I knew he would."

"Uh, hi," Yusei said, staring at Gear.

"Whoa, this young and already the kid has a dragon," Crow said in amazement. "You must be pretty strong."

"Ha, I do alright, well, more than alright. Yeah, I'm awesome," Rua held up his head with pride as his ego got the better of him.

"Modest, isn't he?" Jack smirked.

"You're one to talk," Crow mumbled dryly.

It seemed Jack didn't hear him as he didn't retort the insult. Yusei petted Gear's head, the dragon pup almost purring. He smiled as he remembered when he had met his dragon for the first time.

"So what are you doing here, anyway, kid? I don't think this is your class, even if you are strong enough to have a dragon," Jack said suspiciously.

"Weeeeell," he drawled, "I wanted to meet you guys."

He gave them his best innocent eyes. They nearly had to step back, he was good.

"Meet us?" Yusei repeated. "Why?"

"Because you three are super cool, that's why!" Rua's arms shot up. "You guys got full rides here and commendations from the Director himself! That doesn't just happen, you know."

"The Director?" Now Yusei was confused. "He had something to do with our acceptance here?"

"Not completely," they turned to see Watanabe walked towards them, the rest of the class too busy checking out the arena to pay attention to them.

"Hi, Shun!" Rua practically yelled.

"Man, this kid has some lungs on him," Crow said as he covered his ears, Jack nodding in agreement.

"Rua, what are you doing here? Carly won't be happy you skipped your training to goof off," it seemed Shun was trying to be serious, but there was still some playfulness in his voice.

"Carly won't mind, she gave me permission to come here. Aki is the one that I'm afraid of," Rua shuddered as he said the name. "For some reason, she's in a bad mood today."

"I think it may have to do with the fact that your last spell hit her, remember?" Shun smiled smugly.

"I had it under control! Ruka came up behind me and I lost my concentration," Rua huffed angrily.

"Excuse me?" Rua froze on the spot.

He slowly turned around, his whole body rigid with guilt, as his sister stood there, tapping her foot in irritation.

"First off, you shouldn't have done that spell to begin with. Carly told you it was too advanced for you. Secondly, what were you doing practicing it near our dorm? And third, I did not sneak up on you, I was just walking by and I happened to sneeze. Don't go blaming me because you couldn't handle the spell."

Rua's head hung low in shame, "I know."

"Twins, how about that?" Crow laughed as Rua was scowled by his sister. "And they're nothing alike."

"Yes, Rua and Ruka look identical, but their personalities could not be more different," Watanabe walked over to Yusei and picked up Gear, who was more than happy to curl up in the teacher's arms. "Rua is headstrong, loud, unafraid of whatever may come his way, at times, reckless."

"Like the spell?" Jack chuckled, wishing he had seen that.

"Yes, unfortunately," Shun sighed a tad embarrassed by it. "And Ruka, as you can see, is the demure one, a bit shy, but level-headed, rational, clever, she keeps her brother in check. If she didn't, Rua would no doubt get in more trouble than he already does."

"Rua, Carly doesn't have to teach you, she does it because she wants to. You leaving the first day is really inconsiderate to her," Ruka said sternly. "Just because she said it was okay for you to leave, it doesn't mean it is."

"She's the one who brought it up," Rua replied, his sister eyeing him like she didn't believe him. "Honestly! The Chancellor called Aki and her to his office for an assignment."

Ruka didn't look convinced, so Shun stepped in to help.

"Actually, the Chancellor did tell me something about an important mission for Aki and Carly. Now, be easy on your brother. You know he wouldn't lie about something like this."

"That's true," Ruka said as she thought it over. "I'm sorry, Rua. I shouldn't have gotten angry like that."

"It's okay, sis, it's your job to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to," Rua gave his sister a big hug to assure her it was fine.

Ruka giggled warmly, returning the hug, "Thanks, Rua."

Their family moment was cut short when they heard the sound of a camera shutter. They looked up at Shun, who had his phone out, pointed at them.

"Such a sweet moment between brother and sister, I had to capture this," Shun feigned a tear.

"This is going to end up on the internet, isn't?" the twins assumed with flat faces, still holding each other.

Shun merely smiled brightly. Rua quickly let go of his sister and began running after Shun.

"Give me that!" the boy demanded.

Shun easily dodged him, "Come now, Rua, you two look so adorable."

"Give it!" Rua kept running after the young teacher, the students laughing at the comical display.

"This isn't how I thought our first day would go," Crow said in pleasant disbelief. "But it isn't boring, to say the least."

"Our teacher is a weird fellow, but I agree with Crow," Jack said with a small smile. "This is better than sitting in a classroom all day."

"Excuse me," Ruka approached them. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, I was so busy reprimanding my brother, I forgot to introduce me. My name is Ruka Tsubasa, and you already met my brother, Rua."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yusei Fudo, and these are my friends, Jack Atlus and Crow Hogan," Yusei bowed as the little girl did.

Jack and Crow tipped their heads as they were introduced.

"So, what are you doing here, Ruka? Shouldn't you be in class now?" Yusei asked.

"Sort of," she said. "You see, even though Rua and I are considered to be in the Junior Class, we belong to a more advanced group in the school where people are placed based on their high skill."

"That's impressive," Crow whistled. "Since your brother has a dragon, I'm guessing you do too."

"Yep, her name is Lumina. She likes exploring the woods on campus, kind of like she's protecting it," right on cue, the lithe dragon came floating from out of nowhere. "Here she is!"

Lumina landed gently on Ruka's shoulder, the young girl petting her head.

"She's a pretty dragon," Crow bend down to get a better look. "A light-attribute?"

Ruka hummed yes.

"And Rua's dragon is an earth-attribute?" Jack stated, observing the two dragons.

"Yep!" Rua chirped as he joined the conversation. "Do you guys have dragons?"

"Yes, but they like to go to the Spirit Realm a lot of the time," Yusei said.

"I could say the same for my partner," Shun said as he began walking to the center of the field, his words peaked the three Satellite boys' interest. "Now then, to _finally_ explain why we are here…"

Shun gave Rua a knowing look, the boy laughing sheepishly to the side as he and his sister joined Yusei, Jack, and Crow on the stands.

"I wanted us to get to know each other's talents a bit better," he effortlessly flew into the air. "Everyone is going to get a turn to show their basic skills. Don't be nervous if you mess up. This is all so I can see what we have to work with. Who wants to be first up?"

The students looked at each other nervously, not sure if they wanted to volunteer. After 5 minutes of awkward whispers and glances, one of the students got up and walked up to the field. He had blue hair that just touched his shoulders, with rust brown eyes. He stopped some feet below Shun, and bowed.

"My name is Bruno Borrelli, nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Bruno. When you're ready…" Shun waved at the bare field.

"Right," Bruno concentrated, his powers rising deep inside him like waves on a shore.

His eyes narrowed as he was finally ready. Shun knew this, and on his mark, huge stones appeared from the ground. Bruno stretched out his arm and it was immediately transformed into a cybernetic gauntlet. He pointed it at the boulders, power building in his palm. He then released a surge of yellow energy, which pulverized the rocks into pebbles. The whole arena shook from the blast. The rest of class awed at the power Bruno had shown. He relaxed his stance, his arm turning back to normal as he laid it back to his side.

"A technopath, impressive," Shun said, floating casually. "Good work, Bruno. You have a lot of potential."

Bruno's face filled with happiness, "Thank you, sir!"

"Okay, who's next?" everyone's hands went up.

Bruno's performance had instantly energized them. Seeing their classmate in action, they too wanted to show what they had to their teacher, and possibly be praised by him. Bruno walked off the field, another student running onto the field as he was called up, he passed where the guys were sitting.

"That was awesome, man," Crow said.

"Thank you, to be honest, I thought I was going to mess up real bad," Bruno scratched his head, happy he had not.

"You're a technopath, someone who can control technology with their mind," Jack pretty much explained to everyone, even though they didn't need it.

"Yes, I am. I just moved here. I'm Bruno," he extended his hand to Jack, which the latter shook.

"I'm Jack. The other two over here are Yusei and Crow," Jack pointed to them. "And these two are Rua and Ruka, we just met them."

"Nice to meet to you," Bruno smiled at the twins.

"You can sit here if you want," Ruka offered him the seat next to her.

"Ooh! Ruka has a crush," Rua teased.

"I'm being nice," Rua said flatly, her tone proving she had no feelings like that for Bruno. "Seriously, Rua, why can't you be mature for once?"

They ignored the blast from the field, the student covered in soot, coughing as his spell failed.

"Because, Ruka, being mature is boring," Rua held his head with his arms crossed behind.

"Bruno, how long have you lived here?" Yusei asked, changing the subject.

"Just this summer," Bruno settled in, a female student taking the field now. "I pretty much live in the dorms."

"Do you have any family living in the city?" Yusei pressed on.

"Not really. I've been on my own since I can remember," Bruno watched his classmate conjure a ball of light.

"So, you got no one," Crow looked at the field with a pensive look.

"Yep," Bruno said, seeming content even though what he said would have been painful to most.

Yusei glanced at his new classmate, thinking back to what Rutherford had said before, about how people had lost family on this side of the city.

"Were they…killed in Zero Reverse?" Yusei said in a low voice.

Bruno just stared at the ball of light as it rose into the air, sparking with power as it became unstable. The girl threw the ball into the sky, where it exploded. She took her seat in sadness, her friends consoling her while another boy took his turn.

"No, I was born somewhere else."

The atmosphere had become stiff. Perhaps discussing such matters on the first day of classes was not such a good idea. They looked in different directions, everything now awkward, not even the sound of fireworks coming from the field distracting them, a few sparks here and there. The student went back to his seat, coughing up smoke, his friend trying cheer him up. Lumina then sat on Bruno's lap, the young man chuckling.

"Aren't you sweet?" he stroked her puff of hair.

"Lumina, are you trying to lighten the mood?" they were surprised to see Shun floating in front of them. "Mostly everyone has gone; do you three want to go next?"

The boys looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Well, two of them did. The third, on the other hand…

"I'll go," Jack stood up, jumping from the stands to the field with ease. "My name is Jack Atlus."

"All right then, show me what you got, Jack," Shun floated closer to the stands.

Jack closed his eyes, his thoughts slowing down. The wind picked up around him, out of nowhere, into a powerful cyclone. The force of his power spread throughout the field, the students gasping in disbelief. Crow and Yusei shared knowing smiles, and Rua was absolutely giddy as he saw only part of Jack's power. Jack opened his eyes, the wind turning into swirling flames. He waved his arm in a grand motion, sending the burning tornado into the sky like lance of fire. Even those across campus could see the display of power and were astonished by the sheer force. With another wave of his arm, the flames dissipated.

"What a showoff," Crow groaned.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Bullet," Yusei remarked.

Bruno and the twins were puzzled by what Yusei meant, though it made Crow tint a bit of pink.

"Must be something really embarrassing," Bruno whispered to them, the children laughing.

"My, my, such power yet so much control, and no formal training, very impressive," Shun said to himself. "Well done, Jack!"

Jack smirked as if it was obvious he had done well. He walked back to as Crow got up, announcing he was going next. Jack advised him not to choke and Crow simply shrugged him off, knowing his friend was just messing with him.

"Name's Crow Hogan," he introduced himself with a confident smile. "And here's what I got!"

Crow begun running towards the other side of the field. When it looked like he was about to hit the wall, he simply stepped on the metal and agilely flew into the sky. He hopped about in the air, forming stepping stones of wind. One of them formed into a ball the size of a soccer ball. He kicked it right at the ground, which left a crater of significant proportions. Crow then did the same over again, this time aiming at certain spots on the ground. The vibrations of his attacks could be felt all around, as with Jack, his power was sensed by all. When Crow was done, on the field was the school insignia in perfect detail. Crow "walked" down onto the ground, his classmates impressed by his power as well.

"And he calls me a show-off?" Jack snorted amused.

Shun applauded graciously, "Outstanding, yet another great performance!"

Crow tried to wave it off, but his friends could see he was proud of himself. Yusei sighed deeply, Crow quickly rejoining them, looked like it was his turn. Yusei silently made his way to the field , all eyes on him.

He cleared his throat before approaching Shun, "My name is Yusei Fudo."

"Hello, Mr. Fudo," Shun's eyes slightly narrowing as he said the name, no one else noticing this. "Let's see what you have."

Yusei turned his profile to the remaining boulder on the field, and it was the biggest of them all. It reached to the open ceiling, casting a large shadow on the stands behind it. Yusei stared at it, his eyes concealing his thoughts. Slowly, his body began to radiate a silver glow, almost like stardust. Shun smirked slightly, musing in his mind how alike Yusei was to his father. The young man's light touched everything and everyone, all left speechless by the beautiful brilliance. Yusei swung his arms right in front of him, a Jetstream of glittering silver energy released. It decimated the boulder into rubble. People gasped in horror was the energy looked like it was about to hit the stands. Instead, it flew up, barely avoiding the structure, flying out the ceiling like Jack's tower of embers. There was silence, then the students erupted in cheers, applauding Yusei.

"That was AWESOME!" Rua was jumping up and down in his excitement. "I knew you guys would be!"

"Thanks, kid," Crow said, messing Rua's hair.

As Yusei returned, Rua ran up to him, asking all sorts of questions about his powers, where he had learned magic, that sort of thing. Jack and Crow watched laughing, until Rua turned around and did the same thing to them. The three sweatdropped as they tried to get a word in edgewise. The students were in a frenzy, talking about how thrilling things had turned out. Bruno tried to calm Rua, only to have the latter begin asking him about his powers. Ruka just blanched at her brother, wondering if he'd had too much sugar at breakfast.

As the students talked among themselves, Shun cleared his throat loudly, gaining their attention, "All right, that will be all for the day. You may return to your dorms if you like, or explore the campus."

Yusei was taken aback by this. Just introductions and that was it? He thought there would have been more to do, like going to their other classes.

"Okay, I didn't go to a regular school since today, but I know for a fact the school day lasts longer than this," Crow said.

"Yeah, me too," Bruno looked at the twins. "Do you guys know anything about this?"

"It could be you were all being tested," Ruka answered, Lumina flying to Shun.

"What do you mean? This was all a test?" Crow asked incredulously.

"That's right. They tend to do this a lot the first week, to sort out people, put them in classes more to their level," Luna said matter-of-factly. "A new class comes in each year, and despite background checks, the instructors choose a student's course by observing their skills first-hand."

"That explains why he stayed in the air the whole time," Jack said with arms crossed. "Watanabe was seeing how strong we are."

Gear joined Lumina, affectionately rubbing his face on Shun's. The professor landed far from his students, walking away to the observation deck, no doubt. Everyone was beginning to leave.

"Come on, guys, we'll show you around!" Rua offered jubilant.

"Oh no, we won't," Ruka pulled her brother's ear. "We need to get back to our studies. Just because Aki and Carly are away, doesn't mean you can slack off. When they're gone, Shun is our teacher. Now let's go find him."

"But Ruka…" Rua cried out in pain.

"No buts!" she faced the older boys with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry we have to go like this, but we really need to get back to class."

"It's okay," Yusei said, understanding Rua's worry for their lessons. "We'll see you two around."

"You bet you will!" Rua said while trying to escape his sister's hold on his poor ear.

Ruka waved at them before walking away, Rua asking how they would find Shun. All that could be heard was Ruka saying how their dragons were with Shun, it would be easy to find him then.

"What a pair," Crow grinned. "I like them."

"They remind me of the kids back home," Jack said, getting his things.

An image of the children came to their minds, and their old home in Satellite.

"Let's go," Yusei walked off, the others following him.

"What should we do now? We have the rest of the day off," Crow asked.

"How about we go to the Card Shop? I haven't had a chance to go there," Bruno suggested.

"That's a good idea," Jack said while thinking about it. "We haven't been there either; too busy with other things."

"Then it's settled," Yusei said. "Let's go to the Card Shop, I remember where it was."

The four walked to the train station, having been magically transported to the arena. They got in, enjoying the ride, glad to have gotten their first day over with, with even better results than they had imagine.

**I finally updated! I know, I know, it has been a while since I did, but again, same old reasons as before: work, school, life. I feel like I keep repeating myself, because I am! I'm so weird…oh well, that just makes me a better writer, in my mind anyway. We have Rua, Ruka, and Bruno here! Surprised? Well, I did say I wanted to bring as much as I could into my story from the series but make it seem naturally, and I think I did. And the dashing Shun Watanabe, somehow knew Yusei's dad, but how? And will he tell Yusei soon? Highly unlikely since the story is not that far in yet. That little secret is to be revealed later, along with some other surprises. Unless none of you have noticed, I like teasing my readers. I can't help myself.**

**Please review, because your words give me meaning to live…and write! I'm silly :P**

**Preview: The boys meet the mysterious teachers of the Tsubasa twins. Aki and Carly take the stage! **


	4. Chapter 3: The Two Flowers of Domino

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything to do with the franchise. This fan fiction is merely for entertainment purposes and not my own profit.**

**Author's Note: Yay, another chapter! I have been looking forward to this one ever since I began writing this. Now, I could have gone the route of others and just placed everyone in the same spot at the same time and had they fall in love instantly without any development, but my pride would not let me. So, as far as fluff goes, that won't be happening for a bit. This chapter is mainly to formally introduce Carly and Aki to the story. Maybe there'll be sparks, maybe not. You all just have to read to find out. I'm horrible, I know XD**

Chapter 3: The Two Flowers of Domino

The land was barren, the wind whistling loudly, picking up sand in small waves of air. Tumbleweeds would roll along the rough surface once in a while. The sun scorched the dry land, preventing it from relishing any moisture it received. A lone lizard, of small size, scurried along the harsh ground with no trouble. It climbed the side of a boulder, its head turning in each direction as it surveyed the area for predators. The screech of the hawk above gave it enough warning to go back into hiding, scrambling back into the hole in ground it had come from. The hawk saw it and did not care. As it flew through the air, minding its own business, staring at the ground below, a sudden explosion came out of nowhere. The hawk saw a lithe black figure jump out of the ball of smoke. The figure landed 20 meters from the blast site. The person stood still, waiting with acute weariness.

Another figured landed behind the first, on edge as well. She relaxed a bit upon seeing her friend in one piece, though Aki couldn't lower her guard just yet. She adjusted her short black gloves in her aggravation. She was dressed in a dark red, skin-tight uniform, but not too much where it was uncomfortable and inappropriate. Her jacket was a tad looser, the high-collar left unzipped since Aki felt like she was being choked if she zipped it up all the way to her neck. The school insignia was sewn on the part of the jacket above her heart, with black outlining the edges of the clothes. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, the front strands swaying in the desert wind. Her black combat boots crunched the ground, Aki happy she was wearing pants instead of the skirt she usually wore. She felt more mobile this way, which was a very good thing at the moment.

"Carly, you okay?" Aki asked.

"I'm alright," Carly smiled. "That was close."

"Too close," Aki looked at her stern. "What were you doing?"

"I thought I saw something," Carly remained unfazed by her friend's glare.

Aki walked to her side, "What do you mean, a weak spot?"

"Perhaps," Carly said as she held a pensive look. "I almost have it figured out. I just need a little more time."

"You got it," Aki hopped off the edge, landing lightly before dashing straight at the smoke cloud that was dissipating at a snail's pace.

Carly remained at the cliff, her eyes sharp as she observed the scene in front of her. Now without her glasses, one could see what she hit behind those thick rims: beautiful grey eyes. She had inherited them from her mother, whom she loved dearly. Aki was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the school, and everyone had wondered why she was friends with Carly when they had first arrived. One look at their teamwork and power silenced most. And when they saw Carly take off her glasses, sure her hair was silky so that gave away she hid her looks, just one look at her eyes, and the rest got their answer. Carly was extremely modest, so she didn't care what others thought about her, neither did Aki. And that's why she and Aki were so popular, and why they were best friends.

Carly tightened the white scarf she wore, making sure it didn't fly off with the wind. Her outfit was similar to Aki's, only the sleeves were big and flowed. She also wore shorts instead of pants, with white stockings and red boots that reached an inch or two below her knees. She also wore the same gloves as Aki, only they were white, and her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She prepared as Aki neared the smoke. Aki slowed down, her senses on high alert. All she had to do was buy Carly enough time to figure out how to stop this creature. A giant paw came out of the smoke straight at Aki, who dodged it easily. Another paw emerged, again, she dodged. Next came a tail, swirling around Aki as though to ensnare her. But it didn't work as Aki created a barrier to protect herself. It shined a soft red as the sun's rays hit it.

"Carly, are you done yet?" Aki yelled as the tail tried to break the barrier by squeezing it.

Before Carly could answer, a mighty roar dispersed the rest of the smoke that hid the monster within in. It was immense, a white doglike beast. There were various red markings about its body, its eyes baring the hue of blood in its rage. It snarled viciously at the girls, mainly Aki, whom it had trapped. Its many tails trashed around, destroying the surrounding area. Its gaze was focused on Aki.

"Ready!" Carly announced as she gathered her power.

"About time," Aki smirked, the dog squeezing hard, breaking the barrier.

As the sound of glass reached her ears, Carly gathered more energy. Aki jumped into the sky as she escaped the attack without injure. She landed on a cliff across from Carly. The massive dog looked through the rubble, searching for its prey. She took the opportunity to call on her power as well. The wind picked up around the two girls, as they concentrated on their goal. The dog's head jerked up as it sensed Carly. It began climbing the side of the cliff, rapidly making its way to Carly. The young girl did not move as it jumped at her. At the last second, as it was about to bear its fangs into her, it got sight of the look in her eyes, the spark that told it she would not back down. It hesitated, landing with a loud crash. Carly was protected by the light-orange barrier she had created. The dog's head was right next to her. It locked eyes with her, trying to figure out why it had not torn her apart as it was in its nature.

Carly smiled sadly at it. Its rage subsided, taken aback by the girl's actions. Aki stood at the ready, watching the monster so close to her friend. They had the advantage. The creature was distracted and was an easy target, but Carly was in the way, and Aki would not attack until she was at a safe distance. Aki knew it was hard on Carly, more so than herself. Carly placed her hand up to the barrier, as though she were petting the creature. Its eyes flickered as it recognized the motion. It drew closer, trying to sniff her hand. Carly giggled under her breath, finding the whole situation humorous in an ironic way.

"Everything will be fine soon," she whispered, pulling her hand away.

The dog looked like it didn't like that. It brushed its snot against the barrier. Before it could do anything else, Carly hopped away. She flew in midair, gazing sweetly at the dog. It tried to reach her, but found it could not move. It looked at down and saw long vines sprouting from the ground, wrapping around its legs in a vice-grip. It grew angry as it could not move. It began to growl viciously, trying to bite off the vines, only for more to grow back. Once Carly was at Aki's side, both girls began to glow as they summoned their power more so. Aki shimmered in dazzling magenta, while Carly was encased in sparkling orange.

"Now?" Aki asked as her vines began to wither, the dog began to power up as well.

Carly kept her eyes glued to the dog, waiting as the vines snapped. It finally freed one of its legs, its chest high in the air.

"NOW!" Carly unleashed her attack, a blast of shimmering blue and violet colors.

At the same time, Aki released her power in a stream of red and black fire. Both attacks combined midway, hitting the monster straight in the chest. It fell back, losing its balance from the hit. Immediately, Carly swung her arm, an array of runes appearing around her in a brilliant green. The same appeared around the dog, holding it in the air. The strength in the runes increased as Carly focused. When the magic was strong enough, she swung her arm upwards, the runes encircling the dog.

"Seal!" the runes flashed, embedding onto its white coat.

Carly fell onto her knees once she was finished, exhausted.

"Carly, are you okay?" Aki kneeled next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Carly panted. "I had to make that seal extra strong. Wouldn't want it to break anytime soon until we get him home."

"Still, you need to rest. I would help but I have never been too good at sealing magic," Aki said, turning her head towards the now unconscious dog. "How long do we have to wait?"

As she finished her question, there was a flash of light. Where the dog had been, now lay a young man, a few years older in appearance to the girls. He was pale, like snow, with silky white hair, the runes visible on his neck and hands. He retained his dog ears and tails. He was wearing a white kimono, his feet bare. He slowly came to, Aki and Carly appearing instantly at his side.

"Shiramori, how are you doing?" Carly asked.

He turned his head towards her, his vision hazy, "Carly?"

"Uh-huh, it's me and Aki. We came to help you after we heard what happened to you."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Shiramori said breathless, drained from his ordeal.

"You don't remember," Aki observed. "That makes sense. You were completely out of control."

"I…was?" though he didn't look it, Shiramori was genuinely shocked. "How…did it…happen?"

"We're not really sure," Carly said. "We were told you had lost control for no apparent reason. You had already transformed when we got here."

Shiramori stared at her, horrified, "I…transformed? Did anyone…get hurt? Did I…"

"Shh, there, there," Carly held his hand, her voice soothing. "No one was hurt. You didn't kill anyone. You had transported yourself here to the desert just as you were changing."

"How do you know?" Shiramori asked weakly.

"Sister Karin was there when it happened," Aki answered him. "She saw you running into the forest and followed you. She said you looked like you were in a great deal of pain. When you saw her, you used what little of your consciousness you had left to transport yourself away from the town."

Carly could feel as his body relaxed, his fingers still, "I didn't hurt anyone, that's good."

"It is, very good," Aki smiled. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"Hmm, I suppose so," Shiramori chuckled a bit. "Where are we exactly?"

"The Mojave Desert," Carly replied rather chipper.

"WHAT?!" Shiramori exclaimed shocked, trying to stand up.

As soon as he moved, a sharp pain shot from his chest to the rest of his body. He fell back, clutching his chest. He pulled back his kimono, revealing a freshly formed scar, as well as the runes, now black. They stood out greatly against his smooth, pale skin. He looked up at the girls, who laughed sheepishly at him.

"Your handiwork?" he stated rather than asked.

They nodded.

"Was I truly so out of control, that you had to put a seal on me, Carly?" Shiramori said in disbelief.

"Not really," he raised his eyebrow, an obvious sign he didn't believe her. "Okay, maybe. But it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. I just put it on you so you could change back."

"When can I take it off?" Shiramori pulled his sleeve up, looking at the intricate seal, impressed by Carly's skill.

"In a couple of days, a week at most," Carly said as she looked at her work.

"Until then, you're staying in bed," Aki pretty much ordered, giving Shiramori a stern look when he began to whine. "Don't argue with me. You transformed against your will. We have to make sure you recover right."

"Very well," Shiramori sighed, lying down. "Are we returning to my home or the academy?"

"We're taking you back home," Carly said. "Your cousin is very worried about you."

"And by worried, she means completely freaking out," Aki added with a grin.

"I never meant to worry Miyuki," Shiramori looked down.

"Well then," Aki placed a hand on his shoulder, "we better get you home so you can apologize."

He looked from her to Carly, who smiled kindly at him, offering him her hand, "Come on, let's go."

Shiramori took her hand, holding especially tightly.

* * *

"It's official, I love this school," Crow said as he explored the Card Shop.

The Card Shop was bigger on the inside than they had thought. It was on the first floor of the main building, but it took up more space, up to two floors. It had everything one would need, materials for potions, spell books, medicinal herbs that were mostly used by the Infirmary. Shelves upon shelves filled the shop. It was well-lit insight, long window allowing the sunshine in. There was a musk in the air, though not overpowering to one's nose. There were tables in the middle of the shop where students would look over material or just hang out. Crow was running from place to place, trying to see everything in the shop. Yusei was in the Textbook Section, his eyes glued to a book on the Spirit Realm. Jack was wondering if he should get some materials for class, though he now didn't know what his classes would be so that wouldn't really be helpful. And Bruno was talking with the shopkeeper, an old man with wild grey hair and bushy eyebrows wearing a plain brown yukata and long yellow vest. He had a triangle mark on his cheekbone, just like the ones Crow had, and when he smiled, you could see the gold tooth among his white teeth.

Yusei decided to take the book, having a feeling it might come in handy, "Excuse me, I would like to take this."

"That's a good choice there, sonny," the old man said as he took the leather-bound book from Yusei. "Your school ID, please."

Yusei pulled out his ID, handing it to the shopkeeper, who scanned it in order to charge for the book. A part of their scholarship at the school was they were given an allowance that they could use for whatever they liked. Imagine their shock when they say how much each of them was given. Crow had fainted, while Yusei had been choking on his food. Jack had been left in total shock, until Yusei gripped his arm for help from the food lodged in his throat.

"Here you go," he handed Yusei the book after having wrapped it up.

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem, sonny," he smiled big. "You boys must be new. I haven't seen you around."

"Yes, we arrived here a week ago," Yusei said, extending his hand. "My name is Yusei Fudo."

"Tenzen Yanagi, owner of the Card Shop," he shook Yusei's hand. "Everyone calls me Yanagi. So, how are you liking our little school?"

"Ha! Little, that's an understatement," Crow laughed. "This place is humongous!"

"You have to thank Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Muto for that," Yanagi told them from behind the counter. "Those two designed the school, after all."

"So, Yugi Muto did help found the school?" Yusei said, not surprised.

"Yep! Their friend, Katsuya Jonouchi, also helped in the school's founding," Yanagi revealed.

"Seriously? The three strongest duelists ever, wow," Bruno looked star-struck.

Yanagi nodded pensively, "They wanted to create a place where those who wanted to learn more about their powers could go, but most importantly, give them a home. You see, many born with powers may not always be accepted by those around them, especially if the power is pretty uncontrollable at first. They are ostracized by those who fear them, made to feel like they don't belong. The Three of Legend knew this all too well, having been born when our world was in great turmoil. That's why they build the school, to give hope to those who don't know where to turn to when no one else seems to care. The world is now more at peace thanks to those three."

"They're amazing," Bruno said. "Are they still around?"

"They sure are," Yanagi leaned on the counter. "They keep on protecting the world, though they have gone their separate ways, they are connected by the very thing that has kept them alive time and time again when all seemed lost."

"What would that be?" Jack asked as he walked up, having heard everything from where he had been.

"Why, their friendship, of course! Without that, this school may very well not have been created in the first place."

"Do you know where they are now?" Crow said, hoping he would run into one of them.

"From what I know, Mr. Muto is traveling the worlds, helping where he can, though he does return to Neo Domino from time to time with his wife, a lovely dancer she was, now a great teacher."

"That's right, he married that famous dancer, Anzu Mizaki," Crow snapped his fingers as he remembered.

"Mr. Jonouchi settled in the countryside after he married Mai Kujaku, another great duelist, where he started a dojo specializing in monster summoning and materials arts. Only few ever get accepted by him, he is a very tough teacher, but his students love him nevertheless," Yanagi continued.

"Do you think he would consider taking us as his pupils?" Bruno said eagerly.

"I'm not sure, he is very picky when it comes to his students. The last time he took someone in was a few years ago," Yanagi placed his finger under his chin as he thought it over. "It was two students from the academy, two girls. I thought he wouldn't take them because they looked so fragile, but was I ever wrong! Those turned out to be the some of the best students he's ever had, besides his sons, of course."

"Where are they now?" Yusei said, starting to get tired of standing.

"Oh, they're still here," Yanagi waved his hand and chairs flew out of nowhere, coming to halt behind each boy to seat on. "They're considered students, but they are also instructors to the younger classes."

"I wonder if we'll meet them," Crow said, turning the chair backwards before he sat.

"Probably, if they are as strong as the old man says," Jack leaned into his chair. "What about Seto Kaiba?"

"Mr. Kaiba married Lady Kisara of the White Dragon," Yanagi began pouring tea onto small cups, handing one to each guy. "They live in Faye, the capital. He is still owner of the school, but he leaves everything to the Chancellor. Though, Mr. Kaiba is kept plenty busy what with being one of the few Dragon Lords left and protecting the capital."

"_The_ Lady Kisara?" Bruno nearly burned his tongue with the tea, having tuned out everything else after hearing the woman's name. "Is she as beautiful as they say?"

"No, more so," Yanagi said, his eyes gleaming as he thought of her. "She is the most radiant person I have ever met. Mr. Kaiba is a supremely lucky man."

They laughed under their breath as Yanagi daydreamed of Lady Kisara.

"Uh, Yanagi?" Bruno waved his hand of front of the old man, who had been pouring himself a cup when he started daydreaming. "Yanagi, wake up. You're going to–"

"YEOW!" Yanagi jumped into the air, holding his scalded hand, running about.

"You tried to warn him," Crow said with a knowing look.

"Yanagi, wait, we should take you to the Infirmary before you hurt yourself again," Yusei said the last words in vain as Yanagi ran into a shelf, a few books falling on him.

"Let's get him to a doctor before he dies on us," Jack said dryly, carrying the unconscious shopkeeper over his shoulder.

"Right," Yusei chuckled.

* * *

Yanagi had turned out okay once the doctor had a chance to see him, just some minor burns and a huge bump on his head. The shop had been looked after by one of Yanagi's workers, who appeared unfazed by his boss's little incident. Apparently, Yanagi got into his fair share of trouble. Shortly after, the boys left for their dorm. Bruno lived in another dorm nearby, **THE** **KNIGHTS TOWER**, so he said bye to the others, but not before exchanging info with them. Even Jack, who was not Mr. "I love making friends with strangers" shared his number. When asked why he had been alright by doing so, he told his two friends Bruno was like them, alone and an orphan, making friends with those who understood what he was going through would help the young man adapt to the new school better. Crow had made a side-comment about how Jack was starting to soften, which earned him a punch to the head and a headlock. Yusei just kept walking, Crow turning blue.

When they got back, Natsu was waiting for them in the common room, "Hey, guys, how was your day?"

"Okay, considering how weird it went," Crow said.

Natsu gave them a confused look and Crow went onto share with him the day they'd had, going to the dining hall and getting something to eat first. They ate in Natsu's room, and Crow, being the storyteller of the group, told Natsu about their day. Natsu did not seem surprised by the "test" they'd been given. He told them the same thing had happened to him on his first day.

"What happened afterwards?" Yusei asked. "Did they change your entire course?"

"Pretty much," Natsu said, eating a dumpling, taking his time to swallow before going on. "You'll be getting instructions on where to go soon."

They looked at him as he ate, wondering what he meant. A tapping on the window answered that. Jack, who was near the window, stood up, shocked to see a man outside, standing on a branch. He was dressed in a uniform similar to the boys, only he had on a longer coat. He had a hood over his face, so they couldn't tell what he looked like. Natsu went over to open the window since the others were still wondering what was happening.

"Hello," Natsu greeted him. "You're here to deliver their instructions."

The man said nothing, handing Natsu a piece of paper. They gathered around Natsu, who was reading the paper.

"Looks like you guys are going to the main training grounds tomorrow," he read.

"Where's that?"

"In the forest area of the campus," Natsu said, handing the paper to Yusei, who wanted to see it for himself. "My class is close to it, so I'll show you the way."

"Thank you," Crow turned to the man, only to find he was gone. "What the?! Where'd he go?"

Crow held onto the frame of the window, looking into every direction. There were lampposts that illuminated the campus very well at night, but Crow could not find one clue as to where the man had gone.

"Looks like he left," Jack said, looking around with bored.

"You think?" Crow said annoyed. "Who was that?"

"Just one of the Special Guard," Natsu replied nonchalant. "They're always around, sneaking about."

"Why?" Crow asked.

"I'm guessing it's their job," Yusei looked to Natsu to confirm his thoughts.

"That's right," Natsu turned on his T.V. "They're the stealth force of the school. They get assigned the hardest of assignments. Now you guys need to get to sleep. Tomorrow is when you really get started."

They looked at each, the serious tone in Natsu's voice catching them off-guard. He knew something, and wasn't telling. Yusei looked out the window, towards the forest area, wondering what could happen next.

* * *

The next morning, bright and early, Natsu led the boys to main training grounds. Crow yawned loudly, the Sandman having poured too much of his sand on him. Jack and Yusei were silent the entire way, Natsu himself was too sleepy to talk.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to get up this early," Natsu realized, his eyes wanting so badly to close.

"You should have thought about that before you woke us up at the crack of dawn!" Crow yelled irritably.

It was true, the sun was just rising over the horizon, the blue of night slowly disappearing as it made room for the bright colors of day. The air was still cold, Crow sneezing.

"Seriously, man, why did we have to leave so early?" Crow groaned as they entered the train station.

"I thought it was a good idea," Natsu yawned, Crow giving him a wry look. "What? This is your first 'official' day, you need to prepare for what they have in store for you."

"How exactly is it going to be?" Jack inquired, both he and Yusei looking wide awake.

They were the early-bird type of people. Crow was baffled by this phenomenon, as he thought it was impossible to actually like the morning, especially at 6:00 AM.

"Well," Natsu let out another yawn, stopping at the small café in the station to order some coffee. "It's like this, after your demonstrations, the staff assesses what curriculum is best suited for your skills," Natsu stopped to order the coffee, walking to the side after he paid. "They assign you to teachers who will help you refine your powers. I'm thinking since you three are the same level, I'm assuming here, that you'll likely have the same classes, for the most part."

"What do you mean, 'for the most part'?" Yusei said, somehow knowing it was a big deal.

"You three are pretty much at the same level of power, no?" he said, the three nodding, though Jack looked like he was offended by that remark by the small glare he was giving Natsu. "Okay, okay, _around_ the same level. Anyway, for the core courses, you'll have the same teachers, but then you'll be assigned different teachers for specialized teaching, to refine your individual powers."

"How do the classes go?" Yusei pressed on, wanting to know more to better prepare himself.

"It's hard to explain," Natsu said as he was handed the coffee, giving one to Crow. "They're very 'interactive'."

Yusei was about to ask more when the train arrived, "**NOW ARRIVING, DRAGON'S DEN STATION…TRAIN 114 TO CROSSROADS GARDEN STATION**."

They hurried along, getting good seats as not many people were up yet. It was a quiet ride, Crow happily sipping his coffee, until Jack tried to take it from him.

"Why didn't you get us coffee too?" Jack barked.

"Because, Crow and I need it more than you two. We're not morning people like you and Yusei," Natsu replied in a flat tone, obviously the coffee was not taking effect yet.

"All I'm saying is, it would have been nice of _someone_ to get us coffee too," Jack said as though it was common courtesy.

Natsu gave him a look that warned him not keep complaining, or else. Jack didn't care for the threat, but Yusei nudged him, signaling him to back off. Jack decided, from the look of grumpiness in Natsu's eyes, he should just let it go.

"Anyway," Yusei said, "is there anything else we need to know?"

Natsu took a long sip of hot coffee, "Let me think. I feel like I'm forgetting something, just can't remember what."

"It's probably something important," Jack commented.

"Probably," Natsu smiled, knowing it was true.

The whole time, Crow had been drinking his coffee, a look of gratitude on his face. He didn't care about what was going on as long as he could enjoy his coffee in peace. As they passed each stop, students boarding for early classes, Yusei's mind wondered to the week before. Rutherford had not spoken to them since they had met. Yusei hoped that he could find out something about his parents, even if it seemed unimportant. He didn't want to be selfish, he also hoped that his friends would find something about their parents as well, but he couldn't help thinking about his own biological family. Rutherford had reminded them that the school's database had been destroyed during Zero Reverse. It had taken years to recover what had been lost. Yusei knew the probability of finding something concerning his parents was considerably low. He was being logical when it concerned this matter. He couldn't get his hopes up too much, but he couldn't give up either.

He was broken from his thoughts by a tug on his shoulder, "Yusei? Hello? We're here, space cadet."

"Oh! Sorry," Yusei quickly stood up, Natsu smiling airily.

"Come on, the others are waiting."

The two departed the train, Jack and Crow walking ahead. They caught up with them in no time. Crow stretched his arms to the sky, his usual cheerful disposition back. That coffee was exactly what he needed.

"Man, I feel great! That coffee worked wonders on me."

"I should think so, it's specifically made to give one a serious energy boost," Natsu said.

"Then why didn't we get some too?" Jack said with a tinge of accusation.

Yusei blanched. Was he ever going to let it go?

"I already told you why," Natsu said brightly, the coffee taking full effect. "Besides, it's only meant for those who have trouble staying awake in class, otherwise you are so wired. You turn into the Energizer Bunny 3000."

"Okay, I'll let it go," Jack said, his friends sighing in relief, "on one condition."

Yusei and Crow groaned in dismay.

"Name it," Natsu said anyway.

"You remember to get me a coffee whenever you buy one," Jack acted like it was the right thing to do, despite how petty he was being.

"Okay then! Any particular brand or kind you like?" Natsu asked, a pen and pad in hand, Yusei and Crow staring in disbelief all the while.

"I like all brands, though I am partial to Blue-Eyes Mountain," Jack replied.

"Jack, that stuff is pricey! You can't ask Natsu to buy you a cup every time he gets coffee!" Crow exclaimed.

"It's all right," Natsu waved him off. "As long as we start off with no, or at least minimal, squabbles, I don't mind. Besides, it isn't like I don't have money to spend."

"What do you mean?" Yusei said.

"That's for another time. We have arrived at your destination," Natsu announced.

The main training grounds lay deep in the forest. There were craters scattered along the land, caused by explosions during training. Deep cuts on trees and the ground were evidence of something sharp being embedded onto the surface. They had walked on the clear path without realizing where they were going. They were now standing in a small clearing, where only four people were gathered already. Among them was Bruno, who upon seeing them, joined them. They talked for a while, just wasting time, Bruno getting acquainted with Natsu. The upperclassman had to leave soon for his class, and wished them good luck. They had a growing feeling that they would need it. Soon after, a woman walked from out of the brush. She was wearing a yellow business outfit, her pencil skirt going to below her knees. She had burgundy-brown hair that went to her shoulders, her big brown eyes looking over the group. She looked like was in her late 20's.

"Hello, I'm Professor Amanda Bartlett. I would like to welcome you all to our school, I'm sure we will all get along quite well," she greeted them sweetly. "If you could follow me, I will take you to your instructors."

"So, you're not our teacher," Crow said, having had the impression she was.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "I teach the younger class, I only came here to watch over the class."

"Watch over?" Bruno repeated.

Ms. Bartlett led them to another part of the grounds. It was a small coliseum.

"Great, another 'test'," Crow said flatly.

The coliseum looked like it had been through its share of battles, the proof of fights everywhere from the clear damage to the structure. It was a wonder it was still standing. In the middle of the field, was none other than Rutherford.

"Hello everyone," he said, his hands behind his back. "You are all wondering why you are here. I can answer that. After heavy evaluation, and hours of paperwork, thank you very much, Professor Bartlett…"

Ms. Bartlett laughed with a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"…we have concluded you are the top of your class, and thus, have been placed in the Alpha-training class."

"Alpha-training class?" Crow scrunched his eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

"It means you will be trained to join the elite fighting force of the school, the Guardians," Ms. Bartlett explained.

"No way, the Guardians?" Bruno breathed. "That's…it's…AMAZING! They're legendary! The very first were the Three of Legend themselves!"

Crow whistled, impressed, "Those are some mighty big shoes to fill out. I'm getting nervous, anyone else with me?"

"Me," the only girl of the group said. "I'm Libera, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Crow," Crow shook her hand, the young girl smiling.

Libera was thin, with tanned skin that looked healthy, like she did a lot of work outside. Her wavy blue-purple hair fell well to her waist. Her catlike eyes were something Crow wasn't used to seeing, but he did like them. Being born in Satellite, where life was hard from day one, meeting girls wasn't exactly high on his, or his friends, priority list. That could change now that he was on the mainland. It wasn't that he didn't find Libera pretty, he did, but he thought getting to know her first would be best. It was all new to him, and he would get plenty of time to find out more about Libera, what with being in the same classes and whatnot.

"Think this is going to be tough?" Crow leaned in to ask.

"I know it's going to be tough, my brother is one of the Guardians," Libera sighed.

"Really?" Jack joined in. "Did he say how anything was in this course?"

"In one word," she looked at them with worried eyes, "Devastating. My brother is pretty tough, it takes a lot to get him riled up, so you can imagine how scared I was when he told me that. And now, I'm terrified."

"That does not sound comforting," Crow said.

"What did you expect? This is Duel Academia, after all," Jack stated the obvious.

"I have to agree with Jack on that one," Yusei said, before walking up to Rutherford. "So, what now?"

"Introducing you to your instructor," Rutherford looked over his shoulder. "You can come out now!"

"Good, I was getting bored," a gruff voice said.

A shadow flew from out of nowhere. Its speed was phenomenal; they couldn't keep up with it, darting in every direction.

"What is that?" one of the other boys said. "Renard, can you see it?"

"Yes, I can," the one named Renard said, his eyes keeping up well with the shadow.

"Your friend can see what it is?" Bruno asked.

"He can, Renard has an ocular ability that enables him to see whatever tries to hide or attack, perfectly analyzing the target. There isn't anything too fast he can't catch. I'm Javier," he said, after the long explanation.

Javier sounded like he was of Spanish descent from the slight accent in his voice. He had long dark-brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, and sharp facial features, his mahogany eyes on his friend, who was keeping up with the figure. Renard, on the other hand, had much softer features. His strange grey hair stood out more because of his hot pink eyes, another out of the ordinary trait.

"He's coming down," Renard looked down just as the figure landed on the very spot he had predicted.

"Well, what do you know, I have an observer in the group, huh?" the man said, standing tall. "I'm your instructor, Raphael."

"Wait, aren't you one of the Swordsmen of Doma?" Libera gasped, recognizing him instantly.

"I am," Raphael said with a scowl. "I am here to train you, in order for you to join the ranks of the Guardians."

The vibe Raphael gave off intimidated them, even Jack who was the one who tried his best not to show it. Raphael was tall, very muscular, his dirty blond hair spiked up and a serious look in his eyes that said, "Don't mess with me or else". He was wearing a dull blue trench coat, with black pants and shirt. His boots left deep imprints on the dirt where he stood.

"Who would have thought one of the Swordsmen of Doma would be our teacher?" Bruno gulped. "This is more intense than I thought."

"Hmph, I like it! This is perfect for me," Jack boasted. "I can't imagine getting stronger than I already am, but if I can, then why not?"

"But aren't you worried about how hard this is going to be?" Bruno looked at him like he was crazy.

"Not really," Jack shrugged.

"Is he for real?" Bruno asked no one in particular, wondering if the universe would answer him.

"He is," Crow laughed. "Jack has always been like this, he loves a challenge."

"Of course I do, because once I win, I'll be the stronger for it," Jack said, head held up high.

_Geez, ego much,_ Libera thought dryly to herself.

"Good to hear that," Rutherford clapped his hands. "I'm glad to see you are all taking this well. Raphael is one of our best teachers, recommended by Yugi Muto himself."

"Is it true you defeated Yugi Muto in battle?" Libera hopped over to him in her excitement, forgetting her previous thoughts, like a switch had been flipped in her head.

"Yes, I did. But it was not easy; he is the King of Games after all. Besides, he defeated me in our rematch rather thoroughly," Raphael told them, a smugness about him as he recalled the incident.

"Whoa, I thought that was just a rumor," Javier said in awe.

"Yes, it's amazing," Renard spoke in a soft voice.

"Okay, introductions!" Raphael commanded, the students silencing at his tone.

Libera hopped in place, "I'm Libera Gardenia. Nice to meet you!"

"I am Javier Lorenzo de Castillo," Javier said with a bow.

"My name is Renard," the young man simply said.

"I'm Bruno Borelli," Bruno tried not sound nervous.

"Crow Hogan here," Crow grinned.

"Jack Atlus," he said with a nod.

"And I'm Yusei Fudo," the young man stood at the front.

"Welcome to the Alpha-training class, this course is designed specifically to hone one's skills in a manner where using their power becomes second-nature to them. In other words, you seven are in for a world of hurt. If you can't take it, then you should have thought of that when you were admitting to the school."

Well, that was blunt. Raphael obviously knew how to make an impression. Libera squirmed into the back of the group. She should have listened to her brother. He warned her that her high skill would get her noticed by the faculty, and most likely, she would end up in the Alpha-training class. Then again, she wasn't so weak she couldn't handle it. She shouldn't let her brother's words get to her. She had to prove she deserved to be here, for more reasons than one.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be a frequent visitor to the Infirmary?" Bruno said glumly.

"Cheer up, amigo, everything will be fine. This is going to be fun," Javier said optimistically, placing a hand on Bruno's shoulder.

"If you say so," the latter did not share in his enthusiasm.

A blast nearby caught everyone off guard. It had happened just beyond the wall of the coliseum. The ground shaking from the explosion, they could see the smoke bellowing up.

"What was that?" Crow said.

"Are we under attack?" Ms. Bartlett spoke up after having said not a word the entire time.

"The aura doesn't seem ominous," Raphael said, sensing further, he then growled lowly as he got an accurate read. "Definitely not ominous, just reckless."

"Oh, Raphael, he's still learning," Ms. Bartlett giggled carefree, realizing who the culprit was.

"Amanda's right, Raphael," Rutherford said. "The boy is trying his best. He just wants to make his favorite teacher proud."

Raphael just stared at the smoke, walking towards the exit. The other decided to follow, merely out of curiosity as to what had caused the explosion. The place was a disaster. The trees had been blown over right at the roots, the ones closest having then incinerated, a clear path cut by the path. The ground had long scorch marks, still emitting heat. Jack walked to over to one, inspecting the mark with great detail.

"This was caused by a fire spell of advanced level, the user obviously lost control, they weren't focusing enough and it became unstable. The direction it came in tells us the user got scared and threw the energy in this direction in order to prevent an even bigger catastrophe, which suggests they were in a heavily populated area of the campus. I don't they realized they were sending it in the direction of main training grounds. It was an accident, as simple as that," Jack stood up after his explanation, the others besides his close friends staring at him with wide eyes and mouth agape.

"How did you do that?" Javier asked, the others nodding.

"I specialize in fire magic. If I couldn't tell what caused an explosion, especially one caused by fire, I wouldn't be very good at my job, now would I?" he answered, his tone cocky.

"It's true. Back in Satellite, security would ask for Jack's help in solving arsons and explosions," Yusei said matter-of-factly.

"Can you tell what the specifics are of the person who caused this?" Rutherford inquired, with a clink in his eye that said he already knew who, but he wanted to hear it from Jack.

Jack turned back to the site, his eyes scanning the damage. He walked through the scene, taking in every detail.

"The extent of the damage points to someone inexperienced, young. Most people who try this sort of thing are trying to prove something, taking on too much. It also points to someone reckless, who doesn't always think before he acts. From that, and the way you are acting, I would say this person does this a lot. I'd say it's a kid, one of the younger students, an annoying kid at that."

"Hey! I am not!" Rua ran out of the brush, glaring at Jack, Gear sitting on his shoulder.

"Rua, what are you doing?" Yusei said, remembering Jack's words, it dawned on him. "Did you do this?"

Rua looked down, fidgeting with his fingers, "Um, maybe."

"Seriously? A kid this small did all this? Well, color me impressed," Javier smiled, patting Rua on the back, Gear flying into the air. "Very nice work, kid, you know, other than the destruction and whatnot."

"Thank you," Rua smiled with pride. "Hey!"

"Rua, where are you?" a nervous female voice called. "If Raphael sees what you did, he won't be happy."

The young girl came out of the brush, her now loose, long black hair dancing in the wind. Her glasses back on, Carly now wore her school uniform. It was the same as the other girls', but the jacket was longer, reaching her knees. She also had on black tights with small, one-inch heels boots, and instead of the yellow ribbon, she wore her white scarf.

"Come on, Rua, I don't want to get in trouble with him again," she pleaded.

"Too late," Raphael appeared behind her.

"EEP!" she squeaked, trembling at the sight of the older teacher. "R-Raphael!"

"Carly, how many times do I have to tell you to keep an eye on Rua?" Raphael practically roared. "You chose to be his mentor, and should act accordingly!"

"I know," she looked down in shame. "I _am_ trying."

"Stop it!" Rua ran between them, his arms open to act as a shield for the girl. "Don't talk to Carly like that! She's doing an awesome job being my mentor, I learn a lot from her. It's not her fault I make trouble, it just happens. You always blame her for my messes, and I've had it! It isn't fair!"

"Rua…" Carly said softly, relaxing. "It's okay."

He turned around to look her in the eye, "No, it's not! You're the best mentor ever, and I'm not going to just let that big ape say such mean things to you!"

_Big ape?_ Everyone thought in unison.

"And here I thought I was your favorite teacher," Raphael said wry, giving Rutherford a side glance.

"You are second on the list, when you aren't being mean to my number one," Rua beamed at Carly.

"Oh, Rua, you're such a sweetie," she gathered him in her arms, giving him the warmest hug she could, Gear flying close to Carly and nudging her cheek. "You too, Gear."

"We know!" the boy said, blushing.

"Aw, would you look at that? The kid's got chops for defending his mentor like that," Crow said, proud of the boy.

"She must mean a lot to Rua," Yusei added, smiling as he watched Carly hold Rua, who seemed to not care what anyone thought at the moment.

"She must be the one Ruka was talking about before," Bruno brought up. "Remember, she said something about how Rua shouldn't wander off because Carly would be upset."

"Oh, right," the light bulb went off in Crow's head. "She and another girl named Aki went on a mission. Wait…you don't think…?"

"Think what?" Jack said.

"That she and that Aki are…Guardians?" Crow finished, leaving the others taken aback.

"That girl, a Guardian?" Jack pointed to Carly, who was swinging Rua in the air with no problem, the boy laughing in glee, Gear floating around them. "Come on, she's a frail thing. The Guardians are among the toughest duelists out there."

"She's picking up the boy like its nothing," Libera pointed out. "He may be young, but he doesn't look that light either. Don't understand Charlotte Nagisa."

"You know her?" Yusei said, now more interested than before.

"I have only heard of her, from my brother. She and Aki Izayoi, they're among the best the school has ever had. They're Alpha-level duelists."

They looked at her with pure shock in their eyes. That nervous girl was an Alpha-level duelist? She certainly didn't look it.

"Carly, did you find Rua?" Yet another female voice called out, this one strong.

Aki walked out of the brush, Ruka at her side, Lumina floating at the girl's side. Like Carly, she wore her uniform differently than the other girls. Her look was the same as Carly's, only her shirt was buttoned down, the black undershirt could be seen a bit. She also wore a red neck choker and a necklace with an emerald encrusted, golden crossed-shaped pendant. She was wearing black pumps, an inch higher than Carly's boots. Ruka waved over to the boys once she saw them.

"I sure did!" Carly laughed, holding Rua in a hug again.

"That was fun! Let's do it again!" Rua smiled jubilantly.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but there is still the matter of the little explosion Rua caused, again," Ms. Bartlett tried to say it as kindly as she could.

"Not again," Ruka sighed, her hand on her head, Lumina chirping sympathetically. "Was it that fire spell again?"

"Maybe," Rua gave his sister an innocent look.

It didn't work.

"Rua! We all told you, me, Carly, Aki, Shun, even the Chancellor here," she waved to Rutherford, who smiled at the mention of his name. "You are not ready for that sort of magic, it's not even your best element."

"I know, but I couldn't help myself. After seeing Jack do that awesome fire tornado, I just had to try," Rua said, daydreaming.

"But Jack probably had to train every day to get to that level," Ruka said. "Right, Jack?"

"Right," Jack walked over to Carly, looking Rua in eye. "As strong as I am, that didn't just happen overnight. I had to work hard to get to where I am. The same can be said for Yusei and Crow."

The two nodded.

"See, Rua? You can't just expect such a change to happen just like that. And if it does, it is very hard on the person. We're not mad at you, we just care so much about you, we only want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into," Carly spoke in a motherly manner, her eyes visible through the glasses to Rua.

"I know, thanks," Rua hugged her.

"If you're done," Raphael interrupted. "I have a class I need to teach."

"Oh no! I didn't know!" Carly cried, realizing what was going on. "I am so sorry!"

"It's my fault," Rua jumped out of her arms.

"Regardless, since you two are here," Raphael addressed Aki and Carly, "you could help out. It's only right, considering.

"Way to take advantage of the situation," Aki said with slanted eyes. "What do you say, Carly?"

"It is only right, we disrupted their class."

"Hold it!" Rutherford yelled, everyone standing perfectly still. "They can't help you, after finishing their lessons with Rua and Ruka, they have to help me with a very important assignment."

"What is it, sir?" Aki asked with a serious tone.

"Very few have ever succeeded in this endeavor, and you two are among the best I could consider for this task," Rutherford said, stone-faced.

Everyone remained quiet. They wanted to know what this all-important mission was. Yusei wondered if it had to with their Alpha-level.

"I need you two, Aki, Carly," he paused, taking his time, "I need you two…To help me with my paperwork, it is immense!"

Everyone either hit the ground, or clung to something out of shock. Gear and Lumina watched from above, sweat-dropping at the sight. Well, that was unexpected.

"Seriously? That's why you need them? Your paperwork?" Ms. Bartlett said very irate.

"But of course, there is so much to do, I am one person," Rutherford feigned weakness. "My body can't take it anymore."

"More like you're too lazy," Aki said with unhidden sarcasm.

"Okay, that too," Rutherford admitted all too happily.

"Before we leave, we should apologize for what happened," Aki turned to the others. "I apologize for such a waste of your time."

"And I apologize for Rua's accident," Carly offered, both she and Aki bowing.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Yusei said.

"Still, accept our deepest apologies. I am Aki Izayoi, and this is my friend, Carly Nagisa."

"Nice to meet you," Carly smiled at them.

"El placer es mío, senoritas," Javier took either hand of Carly and Aki and kissed them.

Carly blushed profusely, while Aki just looked at him like he was some weirdo.

"What a Casanova," Bruno joked, earning a laugh from Crow and Libera.

"Okay then," Aki took her hand back. "We need to get going if we're going to help the Chancellor with his work. We'll see you guys around."

"Again, sorry and nice to meet you," Carly waved. "Come on, Rua."

"We'll see you guys later!" Ruka shouted as they left.

"Yeah, bye!" Rua waved like crazy, running after Carly, who took his hand.

Lumina and Gear flew behind them, gracefully floating about.

"So, they're Alpha-level, huh?" Jack said as they disappeared into the distance.

"That's right," Raphael said. "They may not look it, but those two girls are powerful enough to beat even myself."

"No way!" Libera said with her hands over her mouth.

"Hmm, we need to get along with the class, come on, we wasted enough time," Raphael said in a demanding tone that no one was arguing with.

"Hey Renard, you've been quiet this whole time. Everything okay?" Crow asked him.

"Everything's fine," Renard simply said. "I was just, observing them."

"Observing them? Why?"

"Because…I like her."

"Which one?" Crow said, trying to figure out which girl he meant. "Aki? Carly?"

"Yeah," and Renard went back inside the coliseum.

"Yeah what? Which one is it?" Crow yelled. "He is a weird one."

"You have no idea," Javier grinned. "Trust me, he gets weirder once you get to know him."

"Natsu was right, we are in for one wild ride," Yusei said, Crow laughing mirthlessly.

Jack looked to where Carly had been twirling Rua. His eyes seemed to bore a hole on the spot.

"Jack! Hey, we need to get inside for class!" Bruno shouted from the entrance.

Jack remained where he stood for a good while, as though he hadn't heard Bruno. He slowly turned around, going inside. All the while, deep in thought of what he had seen.

**And done! I am glad I finished this because I kept going back to it, deleting huge portions when I wasn't happy with it. At one point, I deleted the entire last half. I just wanted to portray Carly and Aki as best I could while making their characters feel fresh. And how do you like my OC's? Can you figure out which girl Renard likes? And Raphael as a teacher, yea or nay? And what happened with Shiramori? I will answer that…in due time. I love teasing you all.**

**Please review, because reviews = super special awesome XD**

**Preview: Classes get started, and the boys try to survive Raphael's course in one piece.**


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